MTN Subscription Hits 20m

The Nigerian subscriber base of the MTN network hit 20 million in the third quarter of this year, the telecom giant announced yesterday. A statement from the company said that its Group subscriber base increased to 80,736,000 on September 30, representing a nine-percent increase from the 74,058, 000 in June.

According to the statement, the West and Central Africa (WECA) regions increased subscriber base by 10 percent while Nigeria contributed 56 percent to this.

The statement said, “MTN Nigeria, which contributes 56 percent to the WECA region's subscriber base, recorded a nine percent increase in subscriber base to 20,171,000.

The company said the proportional subscriber contribution between MTN's regions remains unchanged, saying South and East Africa (SEA) region contributed 28 percent of the Group's total subscribers while West and Central Africa (WECA) and the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) regions contributed 44 percent and 28 percent respectively.

MTN said the SEA region increased its subscriber base by seven percent for the quarter. The South African operation contributes 72 percent to the SEA region's subscribers, with its subscribers increasing four percent to 16,173,000 for the quarter ended 30 September 2008.

The statement further read: “Prepaid growth was underpinned by the value proposition, MTN Zone, which was enhanced to include off net calls and which continues to be a success.”

It said Uganda increased its subscriber base by 16 per cent following the introduction of MTN Zone in late July, with approximately two million subscribers on this price plan at 30 September 2008.”

According to the company, in the WECA region, MTN Zone was introduced in Ghana, Cameroon and Benin during the period under review, and Ghana rolled out 377 BTSs and increased its subscriber base by 14 percent to 5,713,000.

Both Cameroon and Cote d'Ivoire increased their subscriber bases by seven percent to 3,313,000 and 3,243,000 respectively.

The MENA region, the statement said recorded a 10 percent increase in subscribers for the quarter.

“This was mainly due to continued growth from the Iran operation, which increased its subscribers by 13 percent to 39,000.”

It said following the substantial disconnections in the second quarters, subscriber growth in Sudan has started to show an improvement with a seven percent increase in its subscribers to 2,266,000. Syria's more modest increase of two percent is attributed to a slowdown in acquisitions during the Ramadan period.

MTN Group President and Chief Executive Officer, Phuthuma Nhleko, says: “We are satisfied with the subscriber growth across our operations and we will continue to explore value enhancing opportunities.”

Source: Daily Trust