MTN Ghana saw a nine percent increase in subscribers as of December 2010, bringing the number to 8.7 million, revealed the annual report of the multinational telecom company, released on Thursday. MTN said the increase was largely driven by the introduction of new price plans and a revision allowing subscribers to view discounts in monetary terms rather than percentages. The report also said MTN Ghana's performace was encouraging, considering aggressive competition through headline tariff reductions. SIM card registration has also had an impact, it said. Revenue increased 14 percent ahead of subscriber growth, mostly due to increases in airtime and subscription revenue. SMS revenue also increased significantly, contributing five percent to revenue. Phuthuma Nhleko, MTN Group President and CEO, said, “The Group's strong operational performance was underpinned by a 22 per cent increase in subscribers to 141.6 million from 116.0 million in the prior year, as well as improved efficiencies due to various cost initiatives and despite higher levels of mobile penetration, aggressive competition and increased regulatory requirements. MTN continued to maintain network quality and capacity and to offer attractive segmented value propositions to customers.” The MTN Group, launched in 1994, currently operates in 21 countries across Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. BM
