MTN Bids for Myanmar service provider tender

MTN today submitted an application to the Telecommunications Operator Tender Evaluation and Selection Committee of the Government of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, thus formally entering competition for award of a telecommunications licence in that country, the mobile operator confirmed.


Sifiso Dabengwa, Group President and CEO of MTN (image: MTN)

Tenders for award of two nationwide telecommunications licences in Myanmar are due for submission today, 3 June. MTN is responding in consortium with Myanmar-based Amara Communications and M1 Telecom Limited.

MTN SA

South African-based MTN is one of the world’s largest mobile operators, with nearly 200 million subscribers across Africa and the Middle East. With a market capitalisation of approximately $US35 billion and annual revenues of $US18 billion, MTN is a market leader in 70% of the 22 countries in which it operates. MTN also boasts one of the most valuable brands in the world, with a listing in the prestigious Millward-Brown Brandz Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands 2013 survey.

“Challenges of greenfield operations in major countries are significant,” says Sifiso Dabengwa, Group President and CEO of MTN. “We know this from our successes in South Africa, Nigeria, Iran and other populous countries. As we have underlined in our licence application, we combine unique experience of both developed and emerging markets. Our track record of rapidly rolling out and managing world-class networks in challenging environments is unparalleled.”

MTN believes in the enormous promise of Myanmar, a country fast emerging from years of sanctions.

As a South African company founded in 1994, Mr. Dabengwa says MTN’s experience of economic development following abolition of sanctions is unique. “We are confident of our ability to contribute to the socioeconomic development of Myanmar through a vibrant mobile telecoms sector.”

Dabengwa further expanded on plans set out in MTN’s application documents. “We are proposing early nationwide coverage, high-quality voice and data, innovative services including Internet applications and mobile banking, and, perhaps equally as importantly, the proven training capabilities and track record of the MTN Academy.  Our teams have been working in Myanmar for many months, and we are both encouraged and enthused by our interactions and joint planning with industry, commerce, finance, trade and social organisations. We are very confident of the bright future of Myanmar and of a highly engaged role that MTN can play.”

The Telecommunications Operator Tender Evaluation and Selection Committee is expected to announce the successful bidders on 27 June.

Source : itnewsafrica.com
Tags : mtn, mtn sa, myanmar, mtn mynamar bid, mtn tenders,tehcnology, business
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LTE broadband race on

Vodacom has taken the lead in the country's race to roll-out LTE with the launch of the country's first commercial service earlier this month. However, the triumph is one of marketing rather than technology - with national availability of commercial LTE services still at least two to three years away.

The launch puts Vodafone subsidiary Vodacom ahead of rivals MTN and Cell C, who have yet to launch their own commerical LTE offerings, which are promised to go live before the end of the year. 8ta — the country's fourth and newest mobile operator — will launch an LTE trial on 1 November, with commercial services to follow in 2013.

The commercial launch of the service appears calculated to claim a marketing first: while Vodacom plans to roll out LTE at 500 of its 9,000 base stations by the end of the year, the service is initially accessible via only around 70 Vodacom base stations in Johannesburg.

The Vodacom announcement comes just weeks after MTN disclosed plans to launch a commercial LTE service across around 500 base stations in Johannesburg, Pretoria, and Durban before the end of the year.

LTE obstacles

Despite the apparent rush to market, operators admit that high capex costs, a shortage of devices and a lack of frequency spectrum are constraining the wider rollout of LTE in South Africa. For the most part, the first LTE services will cover major cities well served by fixed-line broadband services rather than the more under-serviced parts of the country.

The biggest obstacle to LTE is that the regulator has dithered for years about the process of allocating much-coveted spectrum in the 2.6HGz band to network operators. Delays in migration to digital television also mean that operators will need to wait until at least 2015 to get their hands on the 800MHz 'digital dividend' spectrum.

South Africa's mobile networks will all dabble in LTE, but a national LTE network is at least two to three years away, said Cell C chief commercial officer Jose Dos Santos, speaking at a conference hosted by South African broadband news and advocacy site MyBroadband recently.

Access to spectrum, the high costs of connecting base stations with fibre backhaul links, and the dearth of LTE devices in the market all pose major challenges for the networks, he added. Despite these obstacles, Cell C will have "something exciting to announce" about LTE before the end of the year.

Source : znet.com
Tags : broadband, lte, vodacom, cell c, mtn, internet speed, south africa broadband

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SA Mobile service providers to enter insurance market

Vodacom to target subscribers with its offering.

JOHANNESBURG – SA’s largest mobile operator’s entry into the insurance market could soon be followed by that of MTN (JSE:MTN) and 8-ta.

Last year, the Financial Services Board awarded cellphone giant, Vodacom a licence which enables it to sell insurance products.

MTN, which has a licence to sell insurance told Moneyweb it’s “currently reviewing various opportunities in the financial services sector, however such considerations are still at the pre-conception stage”.

Mike Fairon, general manager of product innovation and development at MTN SA, says it “would not exclude venturing into such services in the future but cannot commit to a date yet. Should there be any developments in this regard; MTN will appropriately inform its stakeholders and the public”.

8-ta says it is considering moving into the insurance market by the first quarter of this year to “assist subscribers to stay connected and to avoid interruption of services”, said Amith Maharaj, Telkom (JSE:TKG) Mobile’s managing executive.

Maharaj told Moneyweb that it will initially offer handset plus SIM and data devices (dongles) insurance to 8.ta subscribers at a fairly competitive rate, drawing on existing Telkom resources and partners to sell this insurance.

Cell C, however did not respond at the time of publication.

Vodacom, also plans to sell insurance directly to its more than 29m customers without going through a third party.

The move which will assist Vodacom in diversifying its revenue stream was motivated by the mobile operator wanting to improve the range of value added services available to clients, said Tshepo Ramodibe, Vodacom’s acting chief officer of corporate affairs in an e-mailed response.   Ramodibe adds that with the new offering Vodacom hopes “to enhance the all-round customer experience so that customer’s lives are not put on hold if something unforeseen happens to one of their mobile devices”.

In the interim, Vodacom plans on expanding and improving on its handset insurance offering and adding additional insurance products for tablets and laptops. At the time of the announcement last year, managing executive of the financial services division at Vodacom Mark Taylor said the company had been granted a short-term and a long-term insurance licence, allowing it to sell funeral cover as well.

"We will start with the short-term insurance product within the next few months and long-term will follow later," he told media. Vodacom has had an insurance offering for the past 14 years where it sold its products to customers via a third party. Whilst it says it has the “capability to provide insurance services” to existing and new customers, it could expand over time possibly hiring more staff.

Vodacom and 8.ta will be competing with several new entrants into the insurance field, like Discovery and FNB and veterans like OUTurance, Budget and Hollard Direct. Despite entering a highly competitive market Ramodibe says Vodacom’s “current products don’t specifically compete with general insurers although there is obviously some overlap. They are very niche and linked to Vodacom’s core capability as a telco (telecommunications company)”.

Vodacom has also elected to underwrite its own insurance offering, so as to “give it more control and flexibility when it comes to its insurance services”.

With SIM card penetration having reached its full potential, and with voice and data revenues facing stiff competition from other providers it isn’t a surprise that telcos are moving into financial services and products.

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