The ASA has confirmed Cell C was the first mobile operator in SA to offer WiFi calling to customers.

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has dismissed a complaint from Vodacom that claimed Cell C was misleading customers by saying it was the first network to introduce WiFi calling for customers.

Advertising agency Ogilvy & Mather Johannesburg lodged a competitor complaint, on behalf of Vodacom, against claims made by Cell C in both print and radio advertisements in April. The adverts claimed WiFi calling was a first from Cell C and exclusive to the network.

Vodacom argued Cell C was not the first network to introduce WiFi calling in SA, saying it had already made the first local commercial voice over WiFi call in June 2015.

At the time, the service from Vodacom was only available on Samsung Galaxy S6 handsets, used by about 1% of its subscriber base, which it says is the reason it "did not believe it to be in consumers' interest to promote a service that is only available to a very small portion of Vodacom's subscriber base".

"This does not detract from the fact that Vodacom launched WiFi calling some time prior to the Cell C launch. It is therefore factually incorrect that WiFi calling is 'new', or 'exclusive to Cell C', or a 'first from Cell C'," according to Vodacom's complaint.

Cell C responded that although Vodacom's network may be capable of supporting WiFi calls, the presentation of the facts by Vodacom "has been somewhat disingenuous".

"While Vodacom may have been capable of offering the service to consumers since June 2015 on compliant handsets, it has not, in fact, done so. Cell C is the first, and currently only, provider to offer the WiFi calling service to consumers," Cell C's response reads.

The ASA agreed, ruling Cell C's claims that WiFi calling is "new", "exclusive to Cell C", and a "first from Cell C" are not misleading and do not contravene the Code of Advertising Practice.

It found Cell C was the first mobile operator in SA to offer WiFi calling to its customers, adding the service "is not currently available to Vodacom customers, and to date it is only available to Cell C customers". The complaint from Vodacom was therefore dismissed.