| MTN Hits 4Million Subscribers In Ghana |
| By Our Reporter | |
| Saturday, 17 May 2008 | |
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THE MTN Group’s subscriber base has hit record levels. As at December 31, 2007 the Group had recorded 61.4 million across its 21 operations, an increase of 53 per cent from 40.1 million subscribers as at December 31, 2006. The Ghana story is even more phenomenal, where MTN recorded an exceptional increase in subscriber numbers from 2.6 million in December 2006 to four million by year end 2007. In its West African operations, Ghana was second after Nigeria which continues to lead the market in the region. The Ghana operating unit is the largest from the former Investcom Group and remains important in MTN Group’s overall portfolio. Ghana also committed significant expenditure to key social and economically beneficial initiatives in collaboration with the government and people of Ghana. One of such investments culminated in the launch of the MTN Ghana Foundation focusing on health and education corporate social responsibility interventions as well as the successful hosting of the 26th MTN Africa Cup of Nations.Says Brett Goschen, Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana operating unit. "The Ghana Operating Unit will continue to give primary focus to expanding its telecommunications infrastructure for continued improvements in quality of service delivery, bringing new and exciting innovations to the market and enhancing the customer experience. The former Investcom operations recorded subscriber growth of 66 per cent to 13.9 million, contributing 23 per cent of the Group’s total subscriber base. In the South and East Africa (SEA) region, subscribers increased by 23 per cent to 19.3 million. In the West and Central Africa (WECA) region subscribers rose by 43 per cent to 28 million and the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region recorded a phenomenal 186 per cent increase to 14 million, driven by the very strong growth of MTN Irancell. MTN Group President and CEO, Mr Phuthuma Nhleko, says: "I am pleased with yet another satisfactory year across all MTN Group operations. Most of our operations have significantly grown the subscriber base and revenues. This performance reflects the significant opportunities for growth in the Group’s expanded footprint". "Going forward, we will continue to actively seek value enhancing expansion opportunities in emerging markets, invest heavily in infrastructure and ensure that the group is well positioned to benefit from the rapidly converging technology market…" Network enhancement continued to take priority during the review period with the installation of 718 new BTSs, bringing the total to 1660. At December 31, 2007, geographical coverage was 28 per cent and population coverage was 73 per cent. 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: "MTN". As at December 31, 2007, MTN recorded 61,4 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 and has exclusive mobile content rights for Africa and the Middle East. |
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