MTN’s big MVNO expansion plans

MTN South Africa has big plans to support local mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs), with the company saying it expects strong growth in the market.

The availability of MVNOs in South Africa has surged in recent years, with MTN currently supporting major services like Standard Bank Mobile, Pick n Pay Mobile, TFG Connect, Melon Mobile, and Afrihost AirMobile.

MVNOs are operators that don’t own network infrastructure and instead buy wholesale access from a mobile network operator to provide connectivity to their subscribers.

Cell C and MTN are the most prominent MVNO enablers in South Africa.

MyBroadband asked MTN about its plans for the MVNO market in South Africa. It said MVNOs form a big part of its wholesale partner proposition.

“MTN has witnessed strong growth of MNVOs in the country, in recent years. Considering current demand and interest shown there is still good growth expected in the market,” it said.

“MVNOs, therefore, form a big part of our wholesale partner proposition, and our plan is to continue expanding and offering the best MNVO services to our customers.”

A division of MTN National Wholesale is dedicated to supporting MVNOs.

It stated that the model helps users access digital solutions while positioning MVNOs to gain a share of selected target markets and boost job creation.

“This is truly a virtuous cycle in action and is extremely healthy for our sector and economy and will help improve lives and livelihoods,” said MTN.

MTN signed its first MVNO partner — Afrihost Air Mobile (then Afrihost Mobile) — in 2013 before launching a fully-fledged MVNO platform in 2020.

The partnership came as the result of the relationship the two companies built during MTN’s short-lived acquisition of Afrihost.

Since launching its platform, FNB Connect, Melon Mobile, and TFG Connect have been onboarded with MTN. FNB Connect is using Cell C’s network in conjunction with MTN’s.

MTN’s view echoes that of Standard Bank Mobile and Capitec Connect.

South Africa has seen a surge in MVNOs, with five of the 13 major players entering the market in the past three years.

According to Africa Analysis’ 2023 South African mobile MVNO report, the MVNO retail market reached R4.3 billion in revenue in 2023.

However, Capitec Connect and Standard Bank Mobile don’t believe this means the market is getting saturated.

Standard Bank Mobile previously told MyBroadband that the MVNO market will present growth opportunities as long as underserved or unaddressed segments remain in South Africa.

Standard Bank Mobile head Kartik Mistry said MVNOs offer great value for businesses and consumers and that there is still plenty of opportunity for growth.

“Whilst there has been significant growth of MVNOs, we don’t believe that it is fully saturated as there are still specific market segments and niches that have not been served fully,” said Mistry.

Capitec Connect said there is ample room for growth and market expansion through product differentiation and personalisation.

“Capitec recognises the evolving landscape of the telecommunications market in South Africa,” it told MyBroadband.

“With the emergence of MVNOs, there’s an exciting opportunity to introduce tailored offerings that deeply resonate with our clients.”

“We believe there’s ample room for growth and market expansion by leveraging differentiation and personalisation,” it added.

FNB Connect CEO Sashin Sookroo welcomed the growing competition in the market. He said the surge of players in the MVNO market reinforces the strategy.

“Increased competition, leads to increased customer choice and ultimately value,” said Sookroo. “The opportunities in the market outweigh the saturation risk.”

“I think the advent of more MVNOs and more competition has actually got customers thinking about what they are missing out on.”

He added that FNB Connect has seen more uptake than it did before other MVNOs launched in South Africa.