MTN unveils new international call rates to Africa, But More Questions Raised

South African-based mobile operator MTN has introduced new international call rates to certain African destinations. Subscribers can now call Lesotho, Mozambique, Nigeria, Swaziland and Zimbabwe for R0,75c per minute.

The rates compare well to competitors.

Vodacom's cheapest international call rate is 89c in so-called Zone 1 countries, but several neighbouring countries fall into Zone 3, which costs R1.79.

TechCentral reveale that the 75c/minute rate applies only to calls to Nigeria, where MTN has an operation. Calls to Lesotho and Mozambique are charged at R1,59/minute, while those to Swaziland cost R1,69/minute. The rate to Zimbabwe is a massive R3,89/minute.

Also not mentioned in MTN’s statement is the fact that the new rates are not permanent. Rather, they are part of a short-lived promotion that ends on 30 September, or in two weeks’ time. It’s not yet been decided if the promotion will be extended beyond that date.

In addition, the promotion is not available to all MTN customers, only to certain prepaid customers — those on PayAsYouGo and the Zone calling plans. It is not available to contract customers.

The full and unedited MTN media statement follows:

MTN, the leading mobile telecommunications provider, has introduced the lowest international call rates to key African destinations from as little as R0,75c per minute. Consumers will be able to talk to loved ones living in Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Nigeria, Lesotho and Swaziland without having to empty their pockets.
“We are introducing an offering that would address the growing needs of our customer’s to make cheaper calls to international destinations either for business or for personal reasons. We understand that these are financially strenuous times and it is of importance that we boldly bring products that seek to address customers’ needs for affordable value,” says MTN SA Chief Marketing Officer, Brian Gouldie.
Gouldie says that MTN observed a need amongst a large base of its customers to make calls to African countries. These customers are key to MTN as they have a high demand for international calling minutes. We strive to enable these customers to stay connected to international destinations and with our low international call rates, MTN customers will enjoy MTN’s world class network for longer. Customers that are not on MTN can either buy an MTN starter pack to join MTN or port to MTN in order to enjoy the reduced international call rates to African destinations.