NewStats: 3,261,346 , 8,173,738 topics. Date: Wednesday, 28 May 2025 at 10:04 PM 64j1y

MTN South Africa plans to offer 4G smartphones that cost from 99 rands ($5.4) to 1.2 million of its prepaid customers as part of work to shift the country from older 2G and 3G technologies.

The initiative will be executed in three phases commencing in May 2025 until the end of 2026, MTN said in a statement on Monday. One of the conditions for receiving the device is that it can only be used with an MTN Sim card.

“In phase 1, over 5000 carefully selected customers will be offered 4G smartphones. The selection will be based on usage profiles, spending patterns and tenure, and will mainly be in Gauteng province (around Johannesburg and Pretoria),” the company said.

“In phase 2, more than 130 000 customers nationally will be offered the devices. In the third phase, more than 1.1 million MTN customers across the country will benefit.”

The devices will come pre-loaded with a variety of applications. MTN didn’t say if WhatsApp — the de facto messaging app owned by Meta Platforms and used by millions of South Africans daily — was among them.

MTN South Africa CEO Charles Molapisi said: “Regardless of where they live, we want to ensure that all South Africans can access the digital world.”

MTN has partnered with Smartphone For All, founded by Babatunde Osho, a former CEO of Metrofile Nigeria who also served as chief enterprise solutions executive at MTN Nigeria. Osho holds an MBA from Imperial College Management School and an MSc from the London School of Economics and Political Science. He has also completed executive programmes at Wharton Business School, Oxford Said Business School and IMD Business School.

DRIVING DOWN COSTS

The company told TechCentral that the low-cost 4G devices won’t be limited to one model — a variety of smartphones will be offered through the initiative.

For phase 1, MTN is distributing a 5.5-inch model from Itel, though it hasn’t provided the exact device details.

The move by MTN comes six months after rival Vodacom South Africa announced it was introducing a 4G “smartphone” for R249 ($13).

The Mobicel S4-branded phone, which Vodacom described as a “cloud-based handset”, was introduced to “reduce the cost of smartphone access in the country” and to migrate more of the operator’s customers to 4G.

“The cloud phone will help customers still anchored to 2G phones and not familiar with the touch-screen experience, allowing them to appreciate a smooth transition to the data and application world,” said Davide Tacchino, managing executive for terminals at Vodacom South Africa in a statement at the time.

South Africa’s mobile operators are under pressure to migrate legacy 2G and 3G s to more modern technology so the spectrum can be freed up for more advanced technologies, including 4G and 5G.

Vodacom last year cited a 2022 Vodafone-funded report by the Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development in 2022, which argued that lowering the cost of devices was key to increasing access to smartphones.

“The Alliance for Affordable Internet estimates that a smartphone priced at US$62 could cost almost 63% of the average monthly income across Africa. The Broadband Commission’s report recommended that so-called thin-client phones – like the new cloud-based phone which Vodacom has delivered – should be explored. The new cloud-based phone leverages the power of cloud computing to deliver a range of features typically associated with entry smartphones at a more affordable cost.”

They will use money they make in NIgeria to subsidize South African people. If the dont offer Nigerians the same packages we should start considering a boycott of MTN.

danzaki63:
They will use money they make in NIgeria to subsidize South African people. If the dont offer Nigerians the same packages we should start considering a boycott of MTN.

Boycott MTN? Nigerians don't have other options. MTN is still the best among the rest. It will be difficult for Nigerians to boycott.

Nothing new

danzaki63:
They will use money they make in NIgeria to subsidize South African people. If the dont offer Nigerians the same packages we should start considering a boycott of MTN.

For dis country? E go hardddd to boycott emptyhen

MufasaLion:


Boycott MTN? Nigerians don't have other options. MTN is still the best among the rest. It will be difficult for Nigerians to boycott.

If na ibo man get glo, I sure say by now mtn for don pack up.

wiseone28:
Nothing new

MufasaLion:


Boycott MTN? Nigerians don't have other options. MTN is still the best among the rest. It will be difficult for Nigerians to boycott.

It's impossible indeed. Indeed, fact is Nigerians have made it impossible for Nigerians to boycott anything.

silibaba:



If na ibo man get glo, I sure say by now mtn for don pack up.

That's not my cup of tea.

MufasaLion:


That's not my cup of tea.

Don't even mind that person. The people he mentioned specialize in the importation and distribution of fake products. They would not be able to survive in a fair and square setting, so they'll have left the business.

haybhi1:
It's impossible indeed. In fact, it's impossible for Nigerians to boycott anything

Right. Many businesses rely on the reliability of MTN network. I understand some businesses use other network providers for data services but none can touch MTN in of reliability, and that's what people need.

MufasaLion:


That's not my cup of tea.

But it's your cup of AGBOO JEDI?

silibaba:


But it's your cup of AGBOO JEDI?

Quit trolling

danzaki63:
They will use money they make in NIgeria to subsidize South African people. If the dont offer Nigerians the same packages we should start considering a boycott of MTN.

Already did .. Glo is now my preferred network..

silibaba:



If na ibo man get glo, I sure say by now mtn for don pack up.

you sure say ibo man no go dey use the network dey run scam ..

So where is the phone?

.

MTN, like many telecom companies, operates on a service-based revenue model, where the real profit comes from recurring usage, not the one-time sale of hardware like modems or SIM cards.

Selling cheap or even free devices is a customer acquisition tactic. the goal is to get s onto their network. Once s are in, the revenue flows from data subscriptions, voice calls, SMS, and value-added services. It’s similar to how printer companies sell printers cheaply but make big profits on ink cartridges.

DeeScan:
you sure say ibo man no go dey use the network dey run scam ..

Your tribe get am distinction nah

Which one are they doing for Nigerians ?

Guy try reason like economist or person wey go school naa. Dangote and many others sell their products costlier than what they sell in Nigeria. How do you expect them to grow their economy or even show love to their people? Even a farmer in your village sells cheaper to people in that village than people outside.

Na only you go boycott am cos we no follow you.

danzaki63:
They will use money they make in NIgeria to subsidize South African people. If the dont offer Nigerians the same packages we should start considering a boycott of MTN.

MufasaLion:


Boycott MTN? Nigerians don't have other options. MTN is still the best among the rest. It will be difficult for Nigerians to boycott.

you are right, glo will just go off for one month, you will have 50GB but you won't be able to open NL. Airtel will just swallow all your credit without making any calls. As worse as MTN is, they remain the best in Nigeria oh

E M p T y N et


They have contributed little to nothing to Nigeria and Nigerians despite generating enormous huge profit over the years.
But let be real, without strong competitors that can challenge them, they won't consider us.

They don't have any competitor in Nigeria, that is why they do as they like here.

Making money from Nigeria to subsidise the poor in South Africa..

MTN cannot try the nonsense they're doing here in Nigeria in south Africa

danzaki63:
They will use money they make in NIgeria to subsidize South African people. If the dont offer Nigerians the same packages we should start considering a boycott of MTN.

How you want take boycott MTN?
Wey, nai most Nigerians take BVN,NIN,bank s and others.
Blame your politicians for always betraying the people.

No teasers.

haybhi1:
Don't even mind that person. The people he mentioned specialize in the importation and distribution of fake products. They would not be able to survive in a fair and square setting, so they'll have left the business.

Keep consoling yourself..
In the end, you will be outsmarted and outhustled even in your own village by the same people..
If it helps you to sleep easy, keep shouting "fake fake fake" from morning till night whenever you see an igbo man. That changes nada...

Ok.... Coming gradually. Digital globalization of the world.

You will tell me how you cannot safe to afford $5 even if you are in the village.