South African operator Cell C is in advanced talks with MTN to gain more access to its network as it strives to overcome mounting losses and add products such as financial services, Bloomberg reported. An extended roaming deal could be concluded within October, Cell C CEO Douglas Craigie Stevenson said. Cell C already has access to MTN’s network in major cities such as Johannesburg and Cape Town.
Stevenson said it is not a tower-owning company and that Cell C's profits have to come from the services that it can offer customers. The CEO said Cell C is struggling under ZAR 9 billion of debt, and full-year losses have ballooned to ZAR 8 billion from ZAR 656 million a year earlier.
Its management team is in weekly calls with lenders to update them on plans and ensure the company pushes through a re-capitalisation by the end of the year. A group of local banks have committed to provide temporary liquidity and extended the maturity of ZAR 1.2 billion of debt that was due to be repaid last month, Cell C said in a presentation on 26 September.
