Cell C has launched new voice over LTE (VoLTE) services in partnership with German cloud computing company ng-voice, further underscoring the mobile operator’s determination to change customer perceptions about its network quality.
Since stepping into the CEO’s office in mid-2023, Jorge Mendes has been working to improve the company’s offering to effectively compete with its larger rivals.
On Friday, the mobile operator said it had successfully completed its first VoLTE call on Amazon Web Services (AWS).
VoLTE enables mobile customers to make voice calls over a 4G LTE network instead of older 2G or 3G networks. In essence, it is like using the internet to make calls, but with much better quality and reliability.
VoLTE uses technology known as IMS IP multimedia subsystem (IMS) to route voice calls as data over the LTE network. That allows for more efficient use of bandwidth and better integration with other data services.
Cell C said the technology would enable enhanced voice communications for all its customers in SA, while future-proofing its network.
Cell C’s network quality and coverage had been a bugbear for its customers for several years. But since July 2023 it has been improved to the extent that the company is “first or second everywhere in the country”, according to Mendes.
He recently told Business Day that Cell C had shifted away from owning and operating network infrastructure in favour of roaming agreements with MTN and Vodacom. As such, customers get a better network experience underpinned by the two larger rivals.
These network partnerships have vastly expanded Cell C’s coverage, improving access from 5,500 base stations to about 28,000 across SA.
By leveraging ng-voice’s cloud technology, Cell C would benefit “from the flexibility and scalability that cloud technology offers,” the company said.
“This allows voice systems to be continuously updated, new services to be introduced quickly and operations to scale in line with the company’s growing customer demand. Deploying
ng-voice solutions in AWS eliminates the need for large hardware investments, making it the perfect solution for keeping voice production costs down.”
Schalk Visser, chief technology officer at Cell C, said: “We were looking for a solution that would enable us to deliver
high-quality, reliable, and cost-effective communications services to our customers, with the flexibility to scale as required.
“Ng-voice’s IMS on AWS is the perfect solution for this, guaranteeing unprecedented service resilience, combined with a very high level of automation and a low resource footprint. This collaboration aligns with our commitment to harness the power of technology to meet our customers’ evolving needs.”
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