Rwanda experiences a drop in airtime revenues

www.WirelessFederation.com/news: RRA, Rwanda’s tax collector said that the country’s excise tax revenues on airtime sales have dropped by 20.6% in the last quarter. The revenue reportedly plunged from RWF 199.7 million in January to RWF 158.48 million in April 2009. The Rwandan mobile market has two telecom operators MTN and Rwandatel, with over 1.6 million subscribers. Tigo, the third operator, licensed in 2008, will be operational soon. The drop is attributed to less liquidity in Rwandan banks and the recession, which has reduced consumer spending. MTN Rwanda posted a quarterly drop pf 33% in ARPU from US$11 in December 2008 to US$ 7 in March.