AN INNOVATIVE tariff scheme devised by sub-Saharan Africa\u2019s largest cellular operator, MTN, attracted 128000 new users in three months, or an average of more than 1400 a day.<\/p>\n
The MTN Zone price plan offers discounts of 5%-95% compared with other packages for callers in a low-traffic areas at a low-usage time. MTN pioneered such fluctuating fees, based on spare bandwidth.<\/p>\n
The company issued a quarterly update yesterday.<\/p>\n
When the scheme was launched, MTN said it should gradually entice millions of users from competitors. The package already serves 3,8-million users, though many came from other MTN price plans.<\/p>\n
MTN now serves 15,1-million people in SA, up a modest 3% since December. All 21 of its networks in Africa and the Middle East have a combined 68,2-million users, up 11% from 61,3-million in the previous quarter.<\/p>\n
Revised price packages in Zambia saw a 34% rise to 352000. While that number is tiny, average revenue per user (Arpu) rose from $10 to $12, affecting profitability directly.<\/p>\n
The burgeoning Nigerian market enjoyed a subscriber boost of 8% to 17,7-million after a determined effort to expand network coverage and capacity to quell complaints about service quality. But the Arpu in Nigeria dipped from $17 to $16.<\/p>\n
In SA its Arpu fell 3% from R149 to R144, with a warning that it could erode more rapidly as inflation hit spending power.<\/p>\n
Operations in Iran kept growing from a low base \u2014 50% to top 9-million \u2014 as a start-up operation, confirming that MTN was right to enter that potentially risky market.<\/p>\n