Mobile Telephone Networks
Encyclopedia
MTN Group is a South Africa-based multinational mobile telecommunications company, operating in many African and Middle Eastern countries. Its head office is in Johannesburg
.
MTN describes itself as "the leader in telecommunications in Africa and the Middle East" and as of early 2007 is active in 21 countries. (Since 2004, Africa has been the fastest growing mobile phone market in the world).
MTN Group's President and CEO is RS Dabengwa (from 1 April 2011). The company sponsors the CAF Champions League
football competition as well as APOEL F.C. winners of the Cypriot First Division
in 2009 and participants in the 2009–10 UEFA Champions League.
On 18 March 2010, it was announced that MTN signed a sponsorship deal with English football Giants Manchester United F.C.
As of early 2007, MTN is active in:
, Cell C
, Virgin Mobile
and 8ta
.
, an India-based telecommunications company, was exploring the possibility of buying MTN Group. The Financial Times reported that Bharti was considering offering US$19 billion for a 51% stake in MTN, which would be the largest overseas acquisition ever by an Indian firm.
Talks fell through after a few days and Bharti Airtel pulled out of the proposed deal on 24 May. Two days later, it was reported that another Indian telecommunications company, Reliance Communications
is in talks with MTN for a "potential combination of their businesses." If realized, the estimated worth of the combined entity would have been $70 billion (£35 billion), with 116 million subscribers worldwide.
On 18 July, the two companies announced that they had mutually decided to end discussions regarding the merger.
, by merging it with its own subsidiary, MTN ICS. BICS will function as official international gateway for all international carrier services of Belgacom, Swisscom
and MTN group. These companies respectively hold 57.6 %, 22.4 % and 20.0 % of the shares of the company.
Johannesburg
Johannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...
.
MTN describes itself as "the leader in telecommunications in Africa and the Middle East" and as of early 2007 is active in 21 countries. (Since 2004, Africa has been the fastest growing mobile phone market in the world).
MTN Group's President and CEO is RS Dabengwa (from 1 April 2011). The company sponsors the CAF Champions League
CAF Champions League
The CAF Champions League is an annual international club football competition run by the Confederation of African Football . The top club sides from Africa's football leagues are invited to participate in this competition, which is the premier club football competition on the continent and the...
football competition as well as APOEL F.C. winners of the Cypriot First Division
Cypriot First Division
The Cypriot Championship First Division is the top tier football league competition in Cyprus. As of 2007 it is sponsored by Marfin Popular Bank and is hence officially known as Marfin Laiki League .-Format:...
in 2009 and participants in the 2009–10 UEFA Champions League.
On 18 March 2010, it was announced that MTN signed a sponsorship deal with English football Giants Manchester United F.C.
Manchester United F.C.
Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...
Coverage
MTN acquired Investcom, thereby expanding to ten more countries, mainly under the Areeba and Spacetel brands.As of early 2007, MTN is active in:
- AfghanistanAfghanistanAfghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
(Investcom) - BeninBeninBenin , officially the Republic of Benin, is a country in West Africa. It borders Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east and Burkina Faso and Niger to the north. Its small southern coastline on the Bight of Benin is where a majority of the population is located...
(Investcom) - BotswanaBotswanaBotswana, officially the Republic of Botswana , is a landlocked country located in Southern Africa. The citizens are referred to as "Batswana" . Formerly the British protectorate of Bechuanaland, Botswana adopted its new name after becoming independent within the Commonwealth on 30 September 1966...
(Botswana Mascom) - CameroonCameroonCameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon , is a country in west Central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west; Chad to the northeast; the Central African Republic to the east; and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the Republic of the Congo to the south. Cameroon's coastline lies on the...
(MTN Cameroon) - Republic of Congo (MTN Congo SA)
- Cote d'IvoireCôte d'IvoireThe Republic of Côte d'Ivoire or Ivory Coast is a country in West Africa. It has an area of , and borders the countries Liberia, Guinea, Mali, Burkina Faso and Ghana; its southern boundary is along the Gulf of Guinea. The country's population was 15,366,672 in 1998 and was estimated to be...
(MTN Cote d'Ivoire) - CyprusCyprusCyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
(MTN Cyprus) - GhanaGhanaGhana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...
(Investcom, MTN Ghana) - Guinea Bissau (Investcom)
- Republic of Guinea (Investcom)
- IranIranIran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
(MTN IrancellMTN IrancellIrancell is the second mobile phone network operator of Iran. It is 49% owned by the South Africa-based MTN Group.MTN Irancell operates on GSM 900/1800 and is the first network operator of Iran which provides GPRS and MMS service and will let subscribers choose their desired number from between...
) - LiberiaLiberiaLiberia , officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Sierra Leone on the west, Guinea on the north and Côte d'Ivoire on the east. Liberia's coastline is composed of mostly mangrove forests while the more sparsely populated inland consists of forests that open...
(Lonestar CellLonestar CellLonestar Cell is a telecommunications company based in Monrovia, Liberia. The company owns and operates the largest wireless telecommunications network in Liberia, with 48% of the market share in 2011. Founded in 2000 by Beirut-based Investcom, the company became a subsidiary of the South African...
) - MontenegroMontenegroMontenegro Montenegrin: Crna Gora Црна Гора , meaning "Black Mountain") is a country located in Southeastern Europe. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea to the south-west and is bordered by Croatia to the west, Bosnia and Herzegovina to the northwest, Serbia to the northeast and Albania to the...
(MTN CG) [planned 2011] - NigeriaNigeriaNigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
(MTN Nigeria) - RwandaRwandaRwanda or , officially the Republic of Rwanda , is a country in central and eastern Africa with a population of approximately 11.4 million . Rwanda is located a few degrees south of the Equator, and is bordered by Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo...
(MTN Rwanda) - South Africa (MTN South Africa)
- SudanSudanSudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...
(Investcom) - SwazilandSwazilandSwaziland, officially the Kingdom of Swaziland , and sometimes called Ngwane or Swatini, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa, bordered to the north, south and west by South Africa, and to the east by Mozambique...
(MTN Swaziland) - SyriaSyriaSyria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
(Investcom) - UgandaUgandaUganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...
(MTN Uganda) - YemenYemenThe Republic of Yemen , commonly known as Yemen , is a country located in the Middle East, occupying the southwestern to southern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the north, the Red Sea to the west, and Oman to the east....
(Investcom, Spacetel) - ZambiaZambiaZambia , officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. The neighbouring countries are the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, Tanzania to the north-east, Malawi to the east, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia to the south, and Angola to the west....
(MTN Zambia)
Business
MTN's competition in South Africa includes VodacomVodacom
Vodacom is a pan-African mobile telecommunications company, and was the 1st cellular network in South Africa. It provides GSM service to more than 35 million customers in South Africa, Tanzania, Lesotho, Mozambique and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Revenue for the year ended 31 March 2008...
, Cell C
Cell C
Cell C is South Africa’s third cell network after Vodacom and MTN, and the first cellular provider operating a dual band GSM 900/1800 MHz network, with over 7,4-million subscribers according to recent reports in Business Day and myadsl...
, Virgin Mobile
Virgin Mobile
Virgin Mobile is a brand used by many mobile phone service providers across the globe; its headquarters are based in the United Kingdom. Virgin Mobile has local operations in Australia, Canada, France, India, South Africa, Greece, United Kingdom and the United States. It briefly also had operations...
and 8ta
8ta
8ta is a South African mobile telecommunications company. 8ta was launched in October 2010 and is owned by Telkom. 8ta phone numbers use the 0811 to 0814 dialling prefixes...
.
Talks with Bharti Airtel and Reliance Communications
In May 2008, it emerged that Bharti AirtelBharti Airtel
Bharti Airtel Limited , commonly known as Airtel, is an Indian telecommunications company that operates in 20 countries across South Asia, Africa and the Channel Islands. It operates a GSM network in all countries, providing 2G or 3G services depending upon the country of operation...
, an India-based telecommunications company, was exploring the possibility of buying MTN Group. The Financial Times reported that Bharti was considering offering US$19 billion for a 51% stake in MTN, which would be the largest overseas acquisition ever by an Indian firm.
Talks fell through after a few days and Bharti Airtel pulled out of the proposed deal on 24 May. Two days later, it was reported that another Indian telecommunications company, Reliance Communications
Reliance Communications
Reliance Communications Ltd. is an Indian broadband and telecommunications company headquartered in Navi Mumbai, India. RCOM is the world's 16th largest mobile phone operator with over 144 million subscribers. Established on 2004, a subsidiary of the Reliance Group...
is in talks with MTN for a "potential combination of their businesses." If realized, the estimated worth of the combined entity would have been $70 billion (£35 billion), with 116 million subscribers worldwide.
On 18 July, the two companies announced that they had mutually decided to end discussions regarding the merger.
International Carrier Services
On 26 June 2009, MTN Group participated in Belgacom International Carrier Services (BICS), a subsidiary of BelgacomBelgacom
The Belgacom Group is the largest telecommunications company in Belgium, headquartered in Brussels. Belgacom Group is primarily state owned, with the Belgian state holding 53.3% + 1 share...
, by merging it with its own subsidiary, MTN ICS. BICS will function as official international gateway for all international carrier services of Belgacom, Swisscom
Swisscom
Swisscom AG is a major telecommunications provider in Switzerland. Along with Swiss Post, it is a successor company to the former state-owned PTT. Its headquarters are located at Worblaufen near Bern...
and MTN group. These companies respectively hold 57.6 %, 22.4 % and 20.0 % of the shares of the company.