Chief Executive Officer of MTN Ghana Ebenezer Asante has said that the local mobile telecoms are facing growing threats from over-the-top (OTT) players like Whatsapp, Viber and Facebook who offer cheaper voice services to customers.
According to Mr. Asante the cost of deploying a network to run voice services is significant, and thus the apparent bypassing of these expensive networks by such apps mean that mobile operators will not be getting the most out of their investments.
The MTN CEO was speaking in an interaction with some executives of the Institute for Public Relations (IPR) at the head office of the largest mobile network operator in the country.
The recent development in the OTT space, he said, calls for deliberations among all stakeholders on the way forward — citing examples in other countries where OTTs are not allowed to engage in voice calls.
Mr. Asante said quite apart from the OTT’s threat to their margins, the mobile telecoms sector seems over-populated. He stated that with six telcos as well as other ancillary operators, the local market is overpopulated and thus not allowing the players to make some profit.
He predicted that per the performance of some of the mobile network operators, it will not be long before some have to make drastic changes of strategy — that is, shut up shop or merge operations with other players.
The MTN CEO said that time could come sooner rather than later, as shareholders of some of these telcos are not in the country on a ‘safari’ but have to deliver value as well as make returns on their investments.
He said his company, which is also the market leader in data subscription in addition to voice, will continue to innovate and churn out value for its subscribers as well as shareholders.
One major area he said will play a key role in MTN goal of delivering a bold digital world is the enhancement of services offered on the Mobile Money platform. He stated that while uptake in the service may be on the ascendency, a lot more could be done in order to make it deliver more value.
Mr. Asante, who was MTN Rwanda CEO until his Ghana appointment, said the East Africa M-Pesa continues to blaze the trail regarding what a mobile money (MoMo) service can achieve.
Just like the M-Pesa, he said, MTN MoMo will soon make available to users a range of services such as ability to pay government bills and services using MoMo, among others.
The MTN CEO said with the continuous improvement in its network infrastructure, the company remains focused on delivering its promise of improved quality far above its competitors.
MTN, currently the biggest mobile network operator in Ghana, controls 46 percent of the mobile phone subscriber market — with total voice subscriptions totalling a little above 16.25 million as at the end of December last year.
In 2015, the company increased its voice subscriptions by 17.3 percent on the back of what the management considers to be “attractive voice and data offers aimed at subscriber acquisition and churn management”.
The company’s performance in the data market was also encouraging with 8.634 million subscriptions, which makes up of 47.8 percent of the entire data market share.
Revenue from the company’s data services, according to Mr. Twum Asante, increased by 85.2 percent last year; which is an exciting outcome for the company as the data segment has long been considered the next frontier of profitability for telecom companies across the globe.
Source: B&FT Online