It's time for change... Seeya Cell C, roll on Melon Mobile!

Many moons ago, in the region of 20 years or so, I abandoned the MTN ship and made the jump to Cell C. At the time, Cell C were a fresh alternative to the reigning cellular networks in South Africa.
They offered something that MTN could not - quick support and a seemingly willing approach to assisting clients.

At first, the honeymoon was bliss - Cell C was great, and I was happy to have jumped ship.
20 years on, and the picture is far less rosy.
Cell C still doesn't offer 5G data services, their support staff are often rude, their coverage is sketchy and they don't even operate their own cell towers anymore.
Recent headlines also paint a dire financial picture for the company in coming years...

After growing tired of their incessant calling to advise me that I am due for an upgrade, I started trying to find alternative options with other cellular providers...

Enter Melon Mobile - an MVNO (Mobile Virtual Network Operator), which runs off the MTN network.
After seeing their ads on Instagram, it became apparent that their approach was in stark contrast to the well-established contract-based cellular mindset that we have all become used to.
You see, Melon don't do contracts - it's all month to month, and their pricing is super competitive.
You can opt for a free trial, but I signed up for their R199 Summer Promo, which gets me:

• 5GB data
• 500 SMS
• UNLIMITED Voice minutes per month

...on a month to month basis, for R199!
So I'm not stressing about a 24 or 36 month commitment here. My commitment issues are sorted :)

Here's where the deal gets really sweet. Instead of going into a store in a crazy busy shopping mall, waiting for a consultant, figuring out what you want to sign up for, producing reams of supporting documents, payslips, bank statements and blood samples... and finally hopefully ending up with a new cell package, you just download the Melon app, and do everything in there.
For me, it took all of 20 minutes, including RICA (which Melon do via Whatsapp).
A really nice touch here is the option to sign up for a free eSIM (if your phone is compatible, otherwise you can order a normal SIM card).
For the uninitiated, an eSIM works just like a physical SIM card, except it downloads and installs directly to your phone - it's essentially a digital SIM card. Nifty!

The Melon app showing plan and payment options

Super clean, uncluttered UI = easy reading

The entire setup and installation can be done from the comfort of your own home, in less than 30 minutes... and yes they can port your existing number as well :)
Need support? Hit them up on Whatsapp and a real live human being will reply within minutes, ready to sort out any queries that you may have.
Compare that to the 25 minute hold time that we are all so used to on other cellular networks...

I've now been on the Melon Mobile network since early November 2023, and if these first few months are anything to go on, they are onto a seriously good product.
Coverage has been excellent almost everywhere - I no longer get dropped calls, and I can actually experience properly decent data speeds.
It would be wise for other cellular networks to learn a thing or 2 from Melon - after all, why should we be locked into cell contracts for several years, all the while putting up with shoddy service and exorbitant pricing?

Still not convinced?
Why not download their app below and take their free trial for a spin ;) 
I'm guessing that you might be pleasantly surprised...

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Cell C pins April as launch date for "4G"...

This topic has been flying around "the interweb" (thanks to "Die Antwoord" for that one :)) a lot lately.
The question is whether or not Cell C is going to make a move beyond their current EDGE data offering on their network.

Talk is rife of Cell C launching "4G" sometime soon, with data download speeds in the region of 21Mbps (approx. 3 times faster than the current Vodacom and MTN offerings).
In truth this is not actually 4G (4th Generation), rather an advanced version of 3G (3rd Generation).
Now a lot of very important people are unhappy about this apparent deception, this sneaky and devious attempt to fool and mislead the consumer!!
They say "That's not 4G, it's 3.75G!! OMG Cell C are doing us out of 0.25G!!"

Get over yourselves guys, the bottom line here is that Cell C (if they do indeed deliver), will be bringing some seriously high-speed mobile internet access to the general public.
That's a good thing. Don't try and bring a good thing down.

Honestly I don't really care if it is TRUE 4G, as long as it's flippin' fast!

p.s. I heard a rumour today that April 2010 is the launch month for Cell C's new data network... hold thumbs and watch this space!

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Is Cell C getting 4G...?

For many years I have been a loyal Cell C supporter, despite their lack of anything faster than EDGE on their data network.
Cell C have also constantly advised me that 3G is coming soon, not sure EXACTLY when they say, but soon.

That was back in 2008.

So now, 2 years on, I did a little poking, prodding and prying, and a rumour has emerged which claims that Cell C may in fact completely skip 3G (and 3.5G), and launch 4G sometime during 2010...
Now if this turns out to be true, it will be quite an awesome move on the part of Cell C, who up till now have lost a lot of customers based on data speeds inferior to those of MTN and Vodacom, who both currently offer 3.5G (or 3G HSDPA).

Not sure what I'm talking about?
Courtesy of the guys over at Wikipedia:

"4G refers to the fourth generation of cellular wireless standards.
It is a successor to 3G and 2G standards, with the aim to provide a wide range of data rates up to ultra-broadband (gigabit-speed) Internet access to mobile as well as stationary users."

So in layman's terms, 4G is flipping fast mobile internet - the next step up from HSDPA - and therefore faster than anything we currently have available to us in South Africa.

Come on Cell C - your loyal customers await news of 4G!!

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Who or what is Global Verge? Are we on the VERGE of one huge scam?

This kind of subject always strikes a certain chord with me - I suppose my scam radar is just super-sensitive!

I received an email a few days ago, which made claims about what sounds like a fantastic new Internet / Voice / Telephony product, soon to be launched in South Africa and at a fantastic price to boot.

It casually made mention of some big industry names, e.g. MTN and Neotel, and proceeded to drop hooks and keywords such as "High Speed", "Free calls Worldwide", and the biggie... wait for it.... "Business opportunity" (this one set off my alarm bells...!).

Anyone who has been ripped by certain unnamed "network marketing" companies in the past, will tell you that they were approached with a "business opportunity" and that the seller was "extremely excited" about it.
What really gets my suspicions up is the totally blind enthusiasm that is put forward to potential buyers (or victims if you prefer) - no matter what you throw at them, they have some vague, unclear yet totally enthusiastic answer for you.

I won't say too much more on this subject - rather check out this link, and then check out the Global Verge homepage - then decide for yourself.

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