First National Bank (FNB) is the latest big name to be linked with a disruptive partnership with South Africa’s third mobile operator Cell C.
HumanIPO reported last week Cell C’s chief executive officer (CEO) Alan Knott-Craig had said they had discussed merger options with Telkom Mobile, just days after almost ZAR6 billion (US$611 million) was invested in the network.
A report in the Sunday Times newspaper however said a deal with FNB is also a possibility and neither parties confirmed or denied discussions were taking place.
The bank already has a telecommunications licence, which it uses to roll out its free data and free calls services on its FNB Connect products. It also provides low cost iPads and Samsung Galaxy smartphones to its customers.
Any partnership could be in the form of creating a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO), where FNB would use Cell C’s infrastructure and backbone – similar to the arrangement Virgin Mobile has with Cell C.
