Cell C hits 5.7 million MVNO subscribers in first full-year results since JSE listing

South African telecoms operator Cell C has reported that total subscribers across its mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) are now 5.7 million. This represents the number of customers of all MVNOs depending on its infrastructure.

In its financial results for the year ended 31 May 2026, released on Friday, Cell C noted that customers of virtual operators using its tower infrastructure rose by 27.3% year-on-year to 5.7 million from 4.5 million. The earnings report is the first since the company listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) in November 2025. 

Compared to the growth in virtual operations business, Cell C’s total subscriber base has now closed in on 9 million, a 17.1% YoY increase from 7.6 million. 

The development signals how Cell C is extending its dominance in hosting small operators, a typical reason MVNOs continue to grow across the country. Cell C hosts an estimated 80% to 85% of South Africa’s MVNO subscribers on its infrastructure. South Africa currently has the largest number of active MVNOs in Africa, with 23 operators having sold more than 7 million SIMs.

Some MVNOs in South Africa

Despite having a smaller share of direct retail mobile subscribers compared to telecom giants like Vodacom and MTN, Cell C dominates the South African MVNO wholesale market.

Cell C powers the majority of South Africa’s leading banking and retail virtual networks. This includes Capitec Connect, FNB Connect, Shoprite K’nect, Standard Bank Mobile, Nedbank Connect, and Mr Price Mobile.

The strategy of leaving the traditional subscriber competition grounds, by going head-to-head with Vodacom and MTN on traditional tower infrastructure expenditure, continues to be Cell C’s commanding area. 

The company pivoted its business strategy toward becoming a wholesale infrastructure enabler. It decommissioned its own physical tower network to run a Virtual RAN model (partnering with MTN for radio access) while maintaining its core network and database to power MVNOs.

Also Read: How Cell C roaming deals prove network sharing is a viable route to attain network quality.

Cell Cs revenue growth driven by data traffic

In its full-year statement, the telecom operator said revenue increased 13.5% YoY to R12.6 billion ($786.1 million) while service revenue was up by 5.6% to R11.1 billion ($692.7 million).

The core driver of revenue and growth is data, as data traffic increased by 47% YoY. However, the company is not saved from the ongoing transition from voice to data. Its voice traffic was down 4%, a reflection of consumer behaviour. 

Profit after tax for the year stood at R4.2 billion ($262.1 million) after an 87.6% YoY growth.

“Operationally, the business moved from recovery toward more deliberate growth. Prepaid delivered a stronger performance, supported by a recovery in the customer base and the normalisation of historical airtime discount,” the company said in the financial statement.

Also, Cell C revealed that it spent R810 million ($50.5 million) on expanding its infrastructure, building towers and improving network quality offered to users. 

A nPerf barometer report on mobile internet connectivity in South Africa in May revealed that Cell C and MTN were the joint leaders among MNOs in overall mobile network performance. Cell C achieved a nPerf score (nPoints) of 48.016 while MTN had 48.153 points, with Vodacom and Telkom in third (45.488 points) and fourth (27.627), respectively. 

While MTN achieved the highest download speeds at 41.26 Mbps and led upload speeds at 11.19 Mbps, Cell C led in latency, recording the top rating in this segment for the fifth consecutive year. It also led performance in web browsing and video streaming metrics.