MTN Ghana says its annual internet festival month dubbed (iFest month) has contributed significantly to the increase in data subscriptions and revenue within the past three years in the country.
The Chief Executive Officer of MTN Ghana, Mr. Serame Taukobong, who disclosed this at the launch of the fourth edition of the month-long ‘iFest’ said: “MTN Ghana recorded close to 25,000 new data subscriptions through iFest last year.
“This tells us that iFest has been very well received in Ghana and we will not relent in our efforts to drive data usage among our customers.” Data contributed 17.4% of total revenues for MTN Ghana for the first half of 2014. MTN currently leads Ghana’s data market with 50.54% market share, he stated.
IFest is held every September, not only to educate customers about MTN’s data and device offerings, but also to urge professional bodies as well as corporate organizations to use the internet services to advance their operations.
Mr. Taukobong noted that the trend of growth of internet/data usage in Ghana was not too different from what was happening globally.
Ghana now places 145th in the global internet rankings with 12.3% internet penetration, according to ‘Global internet Society’s internet rankings. Projections done by industry researchers on mobile data traffic forecast exponential growth in the next few years especially with the increase of smart devices on the market.
This requires mobile operators to increase the capacity of the network with enhanced technology to be able to meet the demand, the MTN Ghana CEO urged the government and his colleague telecom operators.
Mr. Taukobong stressed that; “the emergence of smart devices has contributed immensely to the mobile data subscription on our network. The number of Smartphone users with access to data on the network increased from 525 in Nov 2011 to 1.7 million in June 2014”.
This feat he attributed to the telecom firm’s strategic partnerships with Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) such as Techno, Huwei and Nokia.
These OEMs, Mr Taukobong indicated had developed highly affordable smart, android enabled phones for MTN Ghana’s subscribers who could not afford the high end devices. This year, two such phones were launched and we are happy with the response so far, he added.
However, despite the significant growth over the period, Mr. Taukobong observed; “there are a lot more Smartphone users on the network who are yet to connect data and they are our main target for this year’s iFest campaign”.
Considering the benefits of data usage to the growth of GDP in the world’s economy, in terms of revenue contributions, it is essential that MTN Ghana continues to educate people to embrace technology.
Today with a click of button they can practically do everything – go to school, check exam results, do a health check, book a ticket, pay bills and other dinner.
Most importantly, you can build an entire business with the internet and on the internet, Mr. Taukobong told participants at the launch, at the telecom firm’s plush building at Ridge in Accra.
MTN Ghana, he explained, continues to make strategic and systematic investments in network to support growth and ensure improved customer experience, saying: “We currently have over 1,137 3G sites and more than 4,000 kilometers of fiber deployed across the country”.
The Chief Marketing Officer of MTN Ghana, Rahul De, said to ensure that their customers realise the full benefits of the internet, a number of activities had been outlined for the month of September.
These he mentioned include: experiential free browsing opportunities at selected MTN branches across the country; data clinics; bonus on bundle offer; and quiz competitions.
Mr. De, therefore, urged all and sundry to be data ambassadors for MTN and educate their relatives and friends, customers on the benefits of getting connected to the digital world through MTN data.
–African Eye News
