SENS Note - 09 October 2003

MTN division plans provide internet access

MTN division plans provide internet access October 9, 2003 By Gugulakhe Masango Johannesburg - MTN Airborn, a division of MTN Group, has developed a strategy to exploit the desperate need for the internet on the African continent. It said yesterday that it would offer cellphone operators in African countries a way to provide their subscribers with internet access, mail and Web hosting. Zak van der Merwe, a senior manager of business development at Airborn Wired & Wireless, said market research, and the experience of MTN Airborn and its partners, showed there was a desperate need for internet access in Africa. "One e-mail address is shared by five users in the continent, and internet penetration stands at less than 1 percent," Van der Merwe said. "Mobile operators in the continent have not developed a comprehensive data strategy - they have been focusing on voice." The internet access proposed will be wireless and not device specific, so it could be via a cellphone, laptop or any device that can manage wireless data. The lack of reliable fixed-line network infrastructure in the continent provided entry barriers for internet users. But MTN Airborn had teamed up with Sun Microsystems and Systemsfusion to develop a solution that would allow GSM operators to offer internet service provision. "The end goal is to allow every citizen on the continent to be connected to a large network. "We talk glibly about digital divides, but there is a hunger in Africa to be part of the electronic world, and the power of that should not be underestimated," said Jan Dry, a technology manager at Sun Microsystems. He said the role South Africa had to play in the rest of Africa was important, and the solution would also generate revenues for all involved. "The solution would be an ideal revenue opportunity for GSM operators, to increase their annual revenue per user by providing customers with access to data services," said Van der Merwe. "This technology solution, which is not device specific, will also be available to network operators to enter the convergence [integration of technologies] space," he said. MTN Airborn and the MTN Group, which is focusing on expanding throughout the African continent, will also create opportunities to develop relationships with various network operators in the continent. MTN shares closed higher 75c at R21.85 on the JSE Securities Exchange yesterday.