Virgin Mobile South Africa unveiled new mobile plans that it hopes will help it achieve an ambitious goal of reaching 1 million subscribers in the next three years.
The Johannesburg-based company, which has been operating as a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) on Cell C's network since 2006, said its new product proposition offers free on-net calls to all its contract and prepaid customers as well as higher inclusive data bundles.
"In a cluttered market where mobile operators fight for every inch of competitive advantage and the market is flooded with a myriad of complex offerings, there is little room for more of the same," said CEO Anton Landman. "So we're creating our own space in the industry with simple, high-value offerings that cannot be easily replicated."
Landman took over as CEO of the company in July this year amid reports that the MVNO had been struggling to maintain momentum in an increasingly competitive mobile market. As well as its Cell C, Virgin Mobile South Africa also competes with Vodacom and MTN.
Originally set up as a joint venture of Richard Branson's Virgin Group and Cell C, network operator Cell C sold its 50 per cent stake in the business in 2011. The Virgin Group increased its stake to 55 per cent, while Calico Investments acquired the remaining 45 per cent stake.
Since 2012, Virgin Mobile South Africa has been part of Virgin Mobile Middle East & Africa (VMMEA), which was established as a new holding company for Virgin Mobile's expansion into the Middle East and Africa regions. The company was renamed in 2012 when Virgin Group and FRiENDi Group combined their shareholdings in Virgin Mobile South Africa and FRiENDi Mobile businesses.
Virgin Mobile-branded businesses are now based in eight countries including Australia, Chile, Canada, France, India, South Africa, the UK and the U.S., serving around 15 million mobile customers.
For more:
- see this Virgin Mobile South Africa release
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