Alfred Moselakgomo

Alfred Moselakgomo

Cell C's plan to allow its more than 2million subscribers to connect with each other for free on weekends has turned into a nightmare.

Angry Cell C subscribers feel the company has bitten off more than it can chew.

On June 20, Cell C launched a revitalised version of the popular Woza Weekend product, allowing the network's subscribers to call each other for free on weekends.

Since the offer was introduced, many Cell C subscribers have described the offer as a "thorn in the flesh".

Cell C management says the response to the offer has been positive and blamed the "inconvenience" on the high number of calls made.

One subscriber, Tebogo Moloantwa, said she suspected the problem might be because Cell C depended on Vodacom to provide the service.

"They must stop being parasitic and become independent," she said.

Charlotte Malefahlo, of Soshanguve, said the offer was "just a money-making ploy".

"They know that all the subscribers will buy airtime vouchers during the week to make free calls on weekends," she said.

She added she was considering ditching Cell C if the crisis persisted this weekend.

But many subscribers said they cannot make calls because the network is continually busy.

Zeona Motshabi, corporate affairs head at Cell C, said: "We are aware that our clients in certain areas have been affected, but our engineers are on standby to attend to all incidents as they arise," she said.

Cell C is South Africa's third-largest cellphone operator.