Brazil adds 2.2 million subscribers in April (Brazil)

Brazil added 2.2 million new subscribers in the month of April, representing an increase of 0.86 percent compared to March 2012. 3G terminals (mobile broadband) totaled 54.3 million hits, as reported by telecommunications regulator Anatel.

As per a report by DJN, TIM Participacoes SA added the most subscribers in the month, with 37 percent of net additions, far above second-placed Oi SA with 23 percent. Telefonica Brasil SA was third, with 22 percent of total additions, and Claro, the local unit of Mexico’s America Movil SA (was fourth with 16 percent.

Further, Telefonica, part of Spain’s Telefonica SA, was still the largest operator overall, with nearly 30 percent market share. TIM, a unit of Telecom Italia SpA was second with 27 percent, Claro was third with 24 percent and Oi had 19 percent.

India accounts for 683 million active mobile connections (India)

India, a dominant presence in the global mobile industry, has over 683 million active mobile connections at the end of March 2012, as reported by MediaNama. According to the report Vodafone’s total subscriber base went up by 1.02 million to 150.46 million, while its active connection base increased by 2.46 million to 133.49 million for the month, indicating that while connections did port out, more connections became active during the month for the telco. Idea Cellular, which has reported the highest percentage of active subscribers since the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) made reporting such information mandatory, reported the highest increase in active subscribers of 2.49 million, with a total base of 105.34 million, and 93.45 percent of its connection base active.

As per the report, Bharti Airtel added 2.50 million connections, taking its connection base to 181.28 million, with 166.28 million of this base active. Airtel has 24.35 percent of the total active connection base. Vodafone added 1.025 million connections, but grew its active connection base by 2.46 million, taking its connection base to 150.46 million, with 133.49 million active. Vodafone has 19.54 percent of the total active connection base.

Idea Cellular added 2.01 million connections, taking its base to 112.72 million, with 105.34 million connections active. Idea Cellular has 15.42 percent of the total active connection base. Reliance Communications (RCOM) 1.04 million connections, taking its base to 153.05 million. However, only 65.39 percent of this base is active – just 100.07 million active connections. RCOM has 14.65 percent of the total active connection base. Public owned telco BSNL has a connection base of 98.51 million, with as little as 53.92 percent of its base - 53.11 million – active. It has 7.78 percent of the total active connection base.

The report highlights that among the new telcos, Uninor added 1.29 million connections, taking its connection base to 42.43 million, but only 24.25 million (57.17) of this base is active. Uninor, which is targeting 8 percent of India’s mobile base, currently accounts for 3.55 percent of the country’s active connection base.

MoU down by over 10 percent in December quarter 2011 (Kenya)

Mobile phone users in Kenya have been decreasing their usage for voice calls and text messages as price wars between operators have started settling, according to a report by AllAfrica.

According to the report, the Minutes of Use (MoU) per subscriber per month in the period between October and December 2011 declined by 10.53 per cent from 89.3 minutes to 79.9 minutes. Latest industry data show the total number of voice minutes received on all mobile networks declined by 5.07 per cent from 7.1 billion minutes to 6.7 billion minutes compared to the same period in 2010 when an increase of 16.09 per cent was recorded.

The report also revealed that users sent fewer text messages with average number of SMS sent by each subscriber per month recorded as 10.71 down from 17.42 in the previous quarter, a decline of 38.52 per cent.

During the period, a total of 902 million messages were sent down from October 1.38 billion during the previous three months, posting a decline of 34.85 per cent, compared to one year earlier when an increase of 57.79 per cent was recorded.

As per the report, mobile price wars started in August 2010 when Airtel (then Zain) cut its calling rates by over 50 per cent. The operator’s entry in the market caused all operators to rethink their pricing strategies in order to maintain their subscriber base. However, the economic downturn caused operators such as Safaricom to focus more on its investment than the price war.

However, as the report reveals, industry analysts claim that new promotional offers may lead to an upswing in the mobile phone usage once again.

MTN defends its operations in Iran (Iran)

Leading telecom operator in South Africa, the MTN Group, has defended its operations in Iran after a series of allegations made by rival operator Turkcell in $ 4.2 billion lawsuit.

As reported earlier, Turkcell had alleged that MTN secured licences in Iran via bribery and corrupt practices. However, Sifiso Dabengwa, MTN’s chief executive, has defended the Group claiming that Turkcell’s own failures to meet Iranian legal and commercial requirements resulted in it not winning a licence.

As per a statement made by the company, Dabengwa said that any suggestion that Turkcell’s failure to obtain the licence was as a result of any alleged corrupt or improper practices by MTN is unfounded. He added that the allegation that MTN influenced South African foreign policy with regard to its armaments and nuclear position is simply ludicrous and has already been dismissed by the South African government.

Over 21 percent subscribers of the South African Group’s entire subscriber base if from Iran.

Bharti Airtel’s Q4 results to rise 3.5 percent at $3.73 billion (India)

According to estimates from research firms, leading telecom operator Bharti Airtel is expected to see a 3.5 per cent increase in its Q4 results, reaching $3.73 billion, as reported by Moneycontrol. The report reveals that the company’s net profit is expected to rise up to 28.1 per cent at $252 million, QoQ.

As per the report, Bharti is expected to report 3.5 per cent qoq revenue growth. Indian mobile revenue is expected to growth 3.7 per cent, while ARPU (Average Revenue Per User) is expected to be at $ 3.7. The revenue from its African operations is expected to bring in revenues of $ 1.07 billion.

The key things the operator plans to focus on include increasing its subscriber base owing to the roll-out of the 3G network. Also, improved network management and data traffic will remain a key point for the operator.

Warid to invest US$ 25 million towards network expansion (Pakistan)

Mobile telecommunication firm Warid Telecom is planning to invest an additional US$ 25 million this year towards network expansion and improvement, as said by Sriram Yarlagadda, the Warid chief executive officer and the director for telecom business.

Yarlagadda said that they would concentrate on their core business of brand building, boosting customer base, new area coverage and network expansion. He added that they have limited capabilities to run the call centres. This is not a core role for telecoms world over. Further, they are not best placed to run the concept.

He also said that they needed to bring experts in this field like Spanco to help enhance the kind of service they want to offer their customers. Yarlagadda added that Spanco will expand the call centre base, which will help provide superior quality customer care service to boost our customer satisfaction. Further, he said that the company will concentrate on growing market share and revenues.

Alan Harper, the Eaton Towers chief executive, said thatEaton Towers’ expertise in tower management and commitment to top quality service will allow Ugandan operators to focus on providing innovative mobile services and expanding its subscriber base. At the same time, their ownership and management of the telecoms network infrastructure will ensure that the local networks will continually be enhanced and expanded, whilst maintaining low operating costs for the mobile operators. He added that these partnerships, with local operators, bring significant benefits to all parties.

Orange Jordan partners with Ericsson for network upgrade (Jordan)

Telecom operator Orange Jordan has signed an agreement with Ericsson to expand and modernise the operator’s 2G and 3G networks across the kingdom. According to reports, the new agreement will enable modernization of the 2G network while expanding the operator’s 3G presence.

As per a company statement, the upgrades will allow Orange Jordan to meet the demands of its growing subscriber base and continue to provide customers with high quality connectivity throughout the kingdom.

Further, under the terms of the agreement, Ericsson will also be supplying Orange with its latest RBS 6000 technology, an energy-efficient compact site solution that prepares the network for LTE/4G technology.

Tarek Saadi, president and head of Ericsson North Middle East, said that they are delighted to be continuing their successful relationship with Orange Jordan, and to have been awarded the modernization and expansion contract of their 3G and 2G networks. He added that they are committed to working with Orange to provide them with tailored and adaptable solutions that can help them meet the demands of their increasing subscriber base, and we look forward to further cooperation with Orange in the future.

Nayla Khawam, CEO, Orange Jordan, has said that the operator and its predecessor, Jordan Telecom Group, have played a key role creating the kingdom’s telecommunications backbone.  Also, they have made significant contributions to Jordan Telecom’s integration with regional and global markets, something they are very proud of. Now, with their increasing subscriber base and the resulting demands on the networks, it is essential that they work with the right partner to provide the most reliable and up-to-date services for their subscribers.

MTN to help SME segment with initial capital (Ghana)

Telecom operator MTN Ghana will support Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) with initial capital, as part of it Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), said Michael Ikpoki, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of MTN Ghana.

He added that the service aims to identify SMEs in the Central and Western regions that are in need of capital, and provide them with the same. The service will then be extended across Ghana.

As reported earlier, Ikpoki had said that the group’s subscriber level across all 21 operations hit 164.5 million, with MTN Ghana contributing some 10.2 million subscribers. He claimed that MTN will continue to provide competitive voice offerings aimed at maintaining market share as lower tariffs and Mobile Termination Rates (MTR) mainly in South Africa and Nigeria impact revenue growth.

As per reports, he also said that the key focus areas over the year, will be to maintain and improve on its market position and customer experience, while efforts will be made to strengthen its position in non-voice services in all markets. Further, increased efficiency in rolling out investments in infrastructure and cost optimisation initiatives are a priority in support of this strategy.

Smart observes sustained growth in postpaid segment (Philippines)

Leading wireless services provider Smart Communications Inc. expects the continued expansion of its postpaid segment this year as it gears up for the launch of exciting handset deals and voice and data plans.

Smart and Sun Cellular ended 2011 with a combined postpaid subscriber base of nearly 2 million, following the success of their best-value offerings. Smart’s parent company Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) acquired a majority stake in Sun Cellular operator Digital Telecommunications Philippines, Inc. (Digitel) last year.

Guido Zaballero, Mobile Marketing Head, Smart, said that the company tripled its average daily postpaid activations largely because of the popularity of the Unli and All-In plans and smartphone-bundled plans. He added that they expect to top last year’s figures as they are set to launch exciting postpaid offerings in 2012. Consumers should watch out for the attractive handset deals and voice and data plans.

Among last year’s growth drivers were the Unli Plan 299, which allows unlimited texts to any Smart and Talk ‘N Text number, and the Unli Plan 599, which allows unlimited calls and texts to Smart and Talk ‘N Text subscribers. The iPhone Plans, Smart’s exclusive plans for the Samsung Galaxy Y Netphone edition and Netphone 701, and the Smart-Sun Text Unlimited 549 Plan also boosted postpaid figures.

The Smart-Sun Text Unlimited 549 Plan provides unlimited texts to Smart and Sun numbers, 2 hours of free Smart-to-Smart calls, and 4 hours of free Sun-to-Sun calls. It comes with a free dual-SIM phone. Smart’s All-In Plans were very popular as well, as these allow subscribers to choose Unli call and text packages, next-generation handsets, and mobile Internet plans.

Zaballero added that consumers got the best value from Smart’s Unli call and text offers as they have the biggest prepaid and postpaid subscriber base in the country, as well as the most sophisticated and reliable network.

Smart ended 2011 with a total subscriber base of 49 million.

MTN Group’s subscriber base reaches 164.5 million (Africa)

South Africa-based multinational mobile telecommunications company MTN Group, has reported subscriber additions of 22.9 million for the year, taking its total subscriber base to 164.5 million. According to the company report, West and Central Africa (WECA) Region was responsible for 71.557 subscribers, followed by the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region with 55.338 million subscribers and the South and East Africa (SEA) region contributed 37.606 million subscribers.

The total revenue for the Group stood at US$ 16.09 billion, up 9.7 per cent from the previous year, which was at US$ 14.53 billion. Data revenue was at US$ 1.07 billion while revenue generated from SMS was US$ 990 million.

Sifiso Dabengwa, Chief Executive Officer, MTN Group, said that the company will continue to look for opportunities for acquisitions around the world. The company is working towards improving customers experience by investing in network improvement, hiring experienced staff, providing quality service, improving distribution and brining on more value-added services, among other things.