Cell C, South Africa’s third cellular network operator, is set to stock iPhone 4, one of Apple’s most celebrated smartphones, in its South African stores from July 15.
This will make Cell C the third mobile operator in the country to stock the smartphone.
Cell C’s chief executive Alan Knot told TechCentral the older iPhone 4 8GB model and the newer iPhone 4S 16GB, 32GB and 64GB ones will be available in the company’s stores as well as other direct sales channels.
The phone fanatics in the country have had to purchase the brands through network operators such as Vodacom or MTN — who have been struggling to keep up with its consumer demands.
Vodacom was the first operator to introduce the phone in South Africa in 2008 followed shortly afterwards by MTN, who later launched the iphone4.
Said to be one of the most expensive phones on the South African market, the iPhone4 model will cost R6 599 (US$796) on prepaid.
By bringing the smartphone to Cell C, analysts say, this could enable the operator to secure more post-paid and business users.
Cell C, which is 100 percent owned by 3C telecommunications was launched in 2001, it currently has a little less than 7 million subscribers.
TechCentral observes that the iPhone has proved popular preference to the country’s consumers prompting Vodacom and MTN to keep up with demand.
The iPhone was first launched in 2007 by former Apple’s chief executive Steve Jobs.
According to Gartner, a technology research firm, Apple sold an estimated 33 million iPhones in the first quarter of 2012. This accounted for 7.9 percent of the world’s entire phone sale in the period.
