Bharti Airtel contemplates mobile service launch in South Africa and Cameroon (Africa)
India’s leading telecommunications operator Bharti Airtel may be planning to expand its network in South Africa and Cameroon, as learned through industry sources. Airtel is a dominant player in the mobile industry with operations in 19 countries across Asia and Africa.
Mobile penetration has steadily been increasing in African countries, and with most of the global markets being saturated, emerging markets such as Africa provide mobile operators with new opportunities to increase their subscriber base and enhance their revenue.
Currently Airtel offers services in Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Chad, Congo Brazzaville, Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Madagascar, Niger, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. By adding South Africa and Cameroon, two of Africa’s fastest growing mobile economies to the list, Airtel aims to strengthen its position in Africa.
Airtel is the leading mobile operator in India and is well known for its innovative and competitive tariff pricing. The operator’s entry into these new markets is expected to take the mobile industry by storm and introduce an unprecedented level of competition.
Airtel presently offers services in 15 cities in India and with the population of one Indian city being similar to that of one African country, South Africa and Cameroon have the potential to be extremely lucrative for Bharti Airtel.
Further, sources claim that rival operators currently offering services in these economies such as MTN, Vodacom and Orange are already working on strategies to maintain their market share and offer stiff competition to Airtel.
Bharti Airtel signs deal with Nokia to expand 3G services in Africa
Bharti Airtel, a leading telecom operator has signed a contract reportedly worth $ 700 million with Nokia Siemens Networks to expand its 2G network and deploy and manage 3G services in Africa.
As per the agreement, Nokia Siemens Networks will manage all network operations as well as provide energy-efficient base stations for Airtel in seven African countries including Madagascar, Malawi, Zambia, Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda and Congo Brazzaville. In an attempt to increase its subscriber base, Airtel has been expanding its presence in Africa’s rural regions.
According to reports, Manoj Kohli Airtel’s CEO (International) and Joint Managing Director said that this partnership will further enable them to rapidly expand their network coverage and provide high-speed wireless internet connectivity to their customers. Further, Nokia Siemens Networks, Chief Executive Officer, Rajeev Suri said that they look forward to working closely with Airtel to expand its network rapidly and deliver the right innovative products and services to help meet user demands.
‘Airtel – Zain’ lost 6 million subscribers in Africa since Bharti’s acquisition
Zain has lost 6 million of its subscriber’s base from the day it tied knot with Bharti Airtel. Although according to Airtel’s spokesperson, the reporting in Kenya was different from that of other markets where a user is not accounted for if a person did not receive a single call for a month. However, most telcos label a user inactive only if the user has been inactive for anywhere between 3 to 6 months.
After announcing first-quarter results previously this month, Bharti Airtel disclosed Bharti Zain’s subscriber base at 36.3 million as touching over 42 million, the figure peddled at the time of the acquisition.
According to the spokesperson for Bharti Airtel, as good governance and to align the definition of customer reporting of Africa to India, the company reported 36.36 million customers. This represents revenue earning customers only. However, he did not specify if the company was seeing a churn in its African operations.
As part of the $10.7-billion deal, Bharti had agreed to acquire the operations of Zain in Burkina Faso, Chad, Congo Brazzaville, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Niger, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. The company is scheduled to unveil the Airtel brand in these countries by October.
Though the acquisition of Zain may have been responsible for the decline in profits, if Bharti doesn’t ensure customer satisfaction in the African nation, revenues and profits will continue to slide.
MTN Partners With IMImobile in a Major Deal to Bring Mobile and Online Content to 103 Million Users
HYDERABAD, India and JOHANNESBURG – Millions of mobile and online content users across Africa and the Middle East will reap the benefits of a landmark tie-up between MTN and IMImobile – an India-based software and managed services provider linked to 350 content providers worldwide.
The two companies have teamed up in a bold move to address the growing demand for content in emerging markets. This strategic partnership will entail providing MTN’s 21 markets access to a repository of current and globally popular content through enhanced delivery platforms. Content categories will include music (with local and international flavour), sports, games, entertainment, news and much more.â€
It will also enable MTN to launch new income-generating voice and data services across its global footprint, with revenues from mobile content and services estimated at around US$150.2 billion in 2011, up from US$89,3 billion in 2006, worldwide.
One of MTN’s new content streams will be the 2010 FIFA World Cup(TM) of which the mobile operator has exclusive global mobile content rights. Accordingly, MTN will leverage its IMImobile partnership to deliver exclusive 2010 FIFA World Cup(TM) content on subscribers’ handsets, including soccer match news, fixtures, match results as well as team and group profiles.
The appointment of IMImobile as a strategic managed services and hosting partner follows an extensive review of MTN’s mobile content and media services landscape across its global footprint.
MTN is now aligning its mobile content and media services strategy across its 21 markets in Africa and the Middle East to standardize and enhance its media content offerings to its subscribers.
MTN also wants to capitalize on the rapidly converging data content and voice market, with Africa, the Middle East and Latin America poised to witness the highest growth in revenue as additional mobile data services are being deployed in these regions.
Nozipho January-Bardill, MTN Group Corporate Affairs Executive, says IMImobile was selected from a group of major global telecom software and service providers because of the scalability of its technology platforms and proven managed services business model.
IMImobile’s value proposition and technology solutions will enable MTN to reduce the time-to-market for new services, boost Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) and keep MTN at the forefront of innovative services.
We have found a partner in IMImobile that has the insight and expertise of the appropriate managed service business model and technology solution necessary to continue to deliver premium content and services to our customers,†said January-Bardill.
MTN has already introduced a number of exciting products and services on its portal and on www.mtnfootball.com during the FIFA Confederations Cup in June this year. This content is currently being archived to allow football fans to re-live the moment long after the games.
IMI mobile will deploy its Service Delivery Platform (SDP), including its industry leading DaVinci Content Management System (CMS). The content strategy includes tailoring content for local consumer preferences, including French and Arabic as well as exploiting MTN’s sponsorship of the 2010 FIFA World Cup(TM) through www.mtnfootball.com.
Vishwanath Alluri, Founder and CEO of IMImobile said: This is a major commercial milestone for IMImobile as we continue to build our offering to support leading operators worldwide. To be chosen by MTN as their strategic partner ahead of a strong list of competitors is testament to our unique service which is based on industry leading technology platforms, content management expertise, a managed services and SaaS business model combined with 24/7 technical support and strict SLA compliance. We are excited by the opportunity and are looking forward to helping MTN achieve its objectives of creating substantial additional revenue streams.â€
Issued by MTN Group Corporate Affairs
ABOUT THE MTN GROUP
Launched in 1994, the MTN Group is a multinational telecommunications group, operating in 21 countries in Africa, Asia and the Middle East. The MTN Group is listed on the JSE Securities Exchange in South Africa under the share code: MTNâ€. As at 30 June 2009, MTN recorded 103,2 million subscribers across its operations in Afghanistan, Benin, Botswana, Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire, Cyprus, Ghana, Guinea Bissau, Guinea Republic, Iran, Liberia, Nigeria, Republic of Congo (Congo Brazzaville), Rwanda, South Africa, Sudan, Swaziland, Syria, Uganda, Yemen and Zambia. The MTN Group is a global sponsor of the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa(TM) and has exclusive mobile content rights for Africa and the Middle East. Visit www.mtn.com and www.mtnfootball.com.
ABOUT IMImobile
IMImobile is a leading provider of converged mobile and online technology platforms and content services to mobile operators and media companies around the world. The IMImobile product portfolio includes a core service delivery platform (DaVinci SDP), mobile advertising platform (Ad-Ring(TM)), carrier grade messaging platforms and gateways, applications for data services, full track music download services and voice platforms. Customers include leading operators and media companies such as Airtel, Vodafone, Virgin Mobile, Google, Reuters and Yahoo!. IMImobile is a profitable fast growing company with operations in 40 countries and offices in Asia, Europe, Latin America and the Middle East. For more information, visit www.imimobile.com
Note to Editors:
The 16 countries IMImobile will be deploying its full CMS across are: Botswana, Cote d’Ivoire, Republic of Congo (Congo-Brazzaville), Rwanda, South Africa, Swaziland, Uganda, Zambia, Benin, Guinea Bissau, Guinea Republic Conakry, Liberia, Afghanistan, Syria, Cyprus and Yemen.
IMImobile will directly connect its central platform in London to the existing CMS platforms of the following 5 countries: Nigeria, Ghana, Cameroon, Iran and Sudan
IMImobile contacts: Eleanor Filgate or K Simon at Babel PR T. +44(0)20-7434-5550 M. +44-7500-038-458 E. imimobile@babelpr.com W. www.babelpr.com MTN Group contacts: Maphamola Lebelo MTN Group Communications Mobile: +27-83-212-9918 Email: Lebelo_m@mtn.co.za
MTN Congo partners with Sicap to Launch Pay4Me
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: MTN Congoand Sicap have today released details of the recent launch of a popular new service, marketed under the Sicap product name of Pay4Me.
The Sicap solutionallows MTN subscribersto bear the cost of a call from loved ones who are momentarily out of credit. Essentially a collect call service, Pay4Me opens up the opportunity for all MTN subscribers to call other MTN numbers, even when out of credit. The subscriber simply dials a short code before their correspondent’s number in order to send a collect callrequest. The correspondent receives notification and presses 1 to accept the charges. (more…)
MTN launches Voice SMS service in Uganda
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: MTN, one of the leading mobile carriers in Uganda, has launched Voice SMS service across the country, based on pioneering Voice SMS technology from Kirusa, the world’s leading vendor of Voice SMS and a leading developer of mobile value added services. MTN Voice SMS offering in Uganda is bolstered by additional innovative features like Scheduling and Dynamic Group Voice SMS.
Voice SMS allows the subscribers to send messages by voice, eliminating the need to type. It enables the subscribers to communicate faster, easier, and with added personal touch by conveying emotions, to their friends, relatives and colleagues. The Voice SMS service has achieved a vast acceptance across the globe for its benefits in surpassing the limitations of text messages.
MTN subscribers need to dial ‘*’ followed by the number of the person they wish to send the message to, and speak a short message for up to 30 seconds in any language. A recipient on MTN network gets a notification message from the sender and can click on a DirectListen(TM) number for direct access and reply to the Voice SMS left for him. He can also dial *0* to hear new voice messages, or retrieve previously listened voice messages by dialing *1*. Voice SMS messages can be replied to, forwarded, saved, or deleted. (more…)
MTN launches voice SMS solution for Uganda subscribers on Kirusa Platform
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: MTN, one of the leading mobile carriers in Uganda, has launched Voice SMS service across the country, based on pioneering Voice SMS technology from Kirusa, the world’s leading vendor of Voice SMS and a leading developer of mobile value added services. MTN Voice SMS offering in Uganda is bolstered by additional innovative features like Scheduling and Dynamic Group Voice SMS.
Voice SMS allows the subscribers to send messages by voice, eliminating the need to type. It enables the subscribers to communicate faster, easier, and with added personal touch by conveying emotions, to their friends, relatives and colleagues. The Voice SMS service has achieved a vast acceptance across the globe for its benefits in surpassing the limitations of text messages.
MTN subscribers need to dial ‘*’ followed by the number of the person they wish to send the message to, and speak a short message for up to 30 seconds in any language. A recipient on MTN network gets a notification message from the sender and can click on a DirectListen(TM) number for direct access and reply to the Voice SMS left for him. He can also dial *0* to hear new voice messages, or retrieve previously listened voice messages by dialing *1*. Voice SMS messages can be replied to, forwarded, saved, or deleted.
MTN subscribers pay a price as low as of UGX.90 (approximately 0.04 USD) for sending a Voice SMS. MTN plans to shortly offer several enhanced Voice SMS services for its enterprise customers.
(more…)
MTN pilots mobile banking service in 5 countries (Africa)
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: MTN, African mobile operator is piloting mobile money transfer service in Benin, Congo Brazzaville, Guinea Bissau, Guinea Conakry and Liberia. The company said the pilots are aimed at finalising the systems and operational processes in preparation for the commercial launch.
MTN is in partnership with local banks to ensure that its services are fully compliant with financial services regulations. To meet the regulatory requirements, MTN is in talks with relevant authorities in various countries. MTN said that the successful launch of Mobile Money Transfer (MMT) in Uganda marks the beginning of a series of planned launches across its operations in Africa and Middle East. Non MTN user, i.e. those who do not have MTN Sim cards or even a phone can still receive money from MTN Mobile Money users and send money through a network of agents in their country.
MTC to invest USD480 million(Congo, Rep.)
Kuwait’s Mobile Telecommunications Co (MTC) plans to invest up to CFA230 billion (USD480 million) in the Republic of Congo over the next five years. ‘The Republic of Congo is a favourable environment for attracting foreign private investors,’ MTC Chief Executive Saad al-Barrak said after a meeting with President Denis Sassou Nguesso in the capital, Brazzaville. ‘I confirmed to the president that from now until 2012, over the next five years, MTC will invest up to CFA230 billion in Congo Brazzaville,’ he told reporters.
MTC said it had agreed last month to borrow USD320 million from the World Bank’s commercial arm, to finance expansion in Africa.
Wireless Mobile Telecom Wireless News
Kenya Tailing in Celtel Bloc Growth
Celtel Kenya is tailing Uganda and Tanzania in percentage subscriber growth, a company report has shown.
The report that Business Week has seen, reveals that while Kenya still continues to perform exceptionally well, its subscriber base grew by a mere 19% compared to Uganda’s 64% and Tanzania’s 83%.
While subscriber numbers in Tanzania and Uganda grew from 738, 000 to 1.349 million and from 233,000 to 381,000 respectively, Kenya’s grew from 1.461 million to 1.743 million.
Announcing the 2006 third quarter earnings for the nine months ending September 30, Celtel’s parent company, MTC of Kuwait said the company recorded positive subscriber growth in all 15 African countries in which it operates.
In the report, MTC recorded consolidated revenues of US$ 2.92 billion, an increase of 115% over the same period in 2005 and posted a net income of $767.46 million, an increase of 64% compared to the same period last year.
The report released last month in Kuwait shows that while the group boasts of a growing customer base of 24.9 million customers in both Africa and the Middle East, total Celtel subscriber growth alone stood at 15.270 million up from 5.375 million (184%).
Celtel Zambia topped all the other countries after recording a 116% growth in subscriber numbers while Sierra Leone tailed at 48% growth.
Burkina Faso recorded an 86% growth, Chad (70%), Congo Brazzaville (87%), DR Congo (80%), Gabon (66%), Malawi (107%) and Niger (107%).
Statistics for Nigeria and Madagascar subscriber growth were unavailable because the two operations were only acquired in May 2006 and December 2005 respectively.
However, their customer base stands at over 5.993 million and 302,000 respectively.
There are over 2.462 million subscribers in Sudan where the pan African mobile firm operates as Mobitel.
With 12,000 employees in both Africa and the Middle East, MTC has mobile voice and data services operations in Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Bahrain and Lebanon.
Industry experts tie the good group performance figures to organic growth, new license awards and acquisitions over the past three and a half years since the company embarked on its profitable expansion strategy.
“The company’s remarkable customer growth is primarily driven by its African operations; and its enviable financial performance is driven by its more mature Middle Eastern operations,” a company statement said.
Mr. Asaad Ahmed Al-Banwan, chairman of MTC said, “We are continuously on the look out for new profitable opportunities.
The kingdom of Saudi Arabia has launched a process that will lead to a 3rd license award and we will participate. We are also evaluating a couple of smaller opportunities in Africa.”
Celtel is still basking in its world record borderless network for East Africa launched in September 2006 that allows customers to travel across the three borders without roaming call surcharges and paying to receive incoming calls.
Source- allafrica Wireless Mobile Telecom
