Cell C (Pty) Limited v Zulu

The respondent applied to Cell C for a community service facility to provide public telephone services. Although a formal written agreement (annexure B) was intended to regulate the relationship, it was never signed by Cell C’s authorised representatives. Despite this, the respondent paid the required amounts, Cell C delivered a container with telephones and equipment, activated the cellular signal, and the respondent commenced trading. A dispute arose about the location of the container, which was temporarily resolved by compromise. When the respondent later moved the container to the originally proposed site, Cell C, without notice, deactivated the cellular signal, rendering the telephones inoperable.

The appeal was dismissed with costs, and the order restoring the telecommunications service remained in force.

The case confirms that binding interim contracts can arise from the conduct of parties even where a formal written agreement is contemplated but not yet executed. It reinforces the principle that, absent an agreed cancellation mechanism, reasonable notice is required to terminate such agreements, particularly in commercial and service-provider contexts.