MTN pushes cheap internet on feature phones

Mobile operator MTN is driving feature phone users to the internet at lower cost.

MTN on Wednesday introduced a SurferLite pilot project that aims to roll out internet access to phones that do not currently access data services.

"The MTN SurferLite application provides an introductory data service to the digital world to customers by delivering an affordable experience that allows non-internet-customers access to content that is otherwise only available on an internet enabled phone," said Peter Malebye, MTN SA general manager.

Feature phone users generally have a poorer internet experience than smartphone users as the devices with smaller displays are not easily able to display mobile web content.

However, some feature phones like the Nokia Asha range are able to produce reasonable access to the internet.

Spectrum

Also, the cost of smartphones continues to decline, especially at lower price points. The Huawei 858 retails for around R399 from an initial retail price of R799.

Samsung's upgraded Galaxy Pocket smartphone is available for around R1 000.

For many users, though, the cost of data remains a stumbling block and junior operator Cell C offers data at 15c per megabyte.

While the expansion of the internet would no doubt enhance the mobile experience for cellphone users, spectrum for true broadband continues to hurt the mobile economy.


source: www.news24.com

MTN makes data deal permanent

Mobile data price war continue to benefit South African consumers as the operators drop the cost of connecting smart devices to the internet.

MTN on Wednesday announced that its data promotions were now permanent as the company looked to take on Vodacom in SA.

"We at first extended the data offerings promotion to our customers, but have now decided to make it permanent to provide our customers a bold, new digital world," said Brian Gould Gouldie, chief Marketing Officer at MTN SA.

Junior operator Cell C currently offers data at 15c per megabyte and the price contributed to disrupting the data market. Competitors reacted with a variety of pricing offers to reduce the cost of smartphone data.

MTN's data promotions of R10 for 20MB up to R249 for 2GB are now permanent.

source: www.news24.com

African mobile subscribers to number 930 million by 2019

The number of mobile subscriptions in sub-Saharan Africa could hit 930 million by the end of 2019, says international provider of communications technology and services Ericsson.

Ericsson unveiled the forecasts in its Mobility Report released earlier this week.

Mobile subscriptions in the region currently stand at 560 million, according to sub-Saharan Africa region head at Ericsson, Fredrik Jejdling.

The report is a summary of historical data subscriptions and traffic forecasts from various sources and validated with Ericsson internal data including extensive measurements in customer networks, revealed the company.

The forecasts are estimated based on macro-economic trends, user trends (researched by the Ericsson ConsumerLab), market maturity and technology development expectations.

“The mobile phone is the main device for voice communication and internet access in sub-Saharan Africa. This is primarily driven by the lack of fixed infrastructure in the region, and the device’s relatively low cost,” the report reads.

Also stated in the report is that in Africa there is expected to be 17 times more growth in mobile data traffic between 2013 and 2019.

Youth in countries such as South Africa, Kenya and Nigeria are also expected to be the primary drivers of social networking activity in sub-Saharan Africa.

Furthermore, the report found that although the Middle East and Africa had 80% of 2G subscriptions this year, the same figure would be for 3G/4G subscriptions in the year 2019.

The company’s mobility report also predicts that global mobile subscriptions are to reach 9.3 billion by 2019, with 5.6 billion being smartphone subscriptions.

source: itwebafrica.com