MTN to End 3G Service in South Africa by December 2025

MTN

MTN has announced plans to shut down its 3G network in South Africa by December 31, 2025-accelerating the phase-out schedule by a full year.


The decision comes after a successful pilot in Cape Town, where the operator tested a migration strategy designed to transition users to more advanced 4G and 5G services.


In a letter sent to participants of the Cape Town pilot, MTN explained that the move follows a directive from the Department of Communications and Digital Technologies, which, as early as September 2022, signaled its intention to eliminate both 2G and 3G networks. The operator assured customers that while there would be some inevitable short-term impact, the transition would be implemented in carefully planned stages to minimise disruption.


The pilot project, which covered areas including Durbanville, Greater Melkbosstrand, and several Cape Town suburbs such as Milnerton and Bloubergstrand, was used to fine-tune the migration process. Encouraged by its success, MTN is now confident that a full rollout will be smooth and will ultimately enhance customer experience by delivering faster, more reliable connectivity.


This planned upgrade reflects broader trends in the South African telecom market. Industry giants like Vodacom and MTN are urging the government to avoid rigid deadlines, emphasizing that flexibility is essential in light of the high costs associated with upgrading to 4G and 5G devices. Communications Minister Solly Malatsi has confirmed that ICASA is conducting an economic impact assessment to ensure that the switch-off will not unduly affect consumers, especially in regions where access to advanced networks remains limited.

The move to phase out older networks is part of a larger strategy to modernise South Africa’s mobile infrastructure. With the introduction of budget-friendly devices such as Vodacom’s Mobicel S4 and MTN’s Icon 5G, there is hope that the transition will not only boost network efficiency but also make modern mobile technology more accessible to a broader segment of the population. However, some analysts warn that the shift must be managed carefully to avoid alienating customers who still depend on 3G services for essential communications.


As the countdown to the December 2025 deadline begins, all eyes will be on how MTN and its peers handle the migration. The planned phase-out is seen as a necessary step toward a more connected and technologically advanced future for South Africa, but its success will depend on balancing the rapid pace of technological change with the practical needs of everyday users.

Source: News Ghana

MTN Ghana CFO calls for measures to attract more investments into Africa

MTN

The Chief Finance Officer of MTN Ghana, Antoinette Kwofie, has called for the unification of regulations across the continent to facilitate the attraction of capital to invest in the infrastructure on the continent.
Participating in a panel discussion at the 2025 Africa Prosperity Dialogues (APD) on the topic, “Filling the Funding Gap for Infrastructure”, Antoinette Kwofie underscored the importance of collaboration among African nations in achieving sustainable growth.


“As Africans, we need to start thinking as one unit. Success can be achieved by playing as a team. So, we need to start thinking about how we can collaborate across the different countries we have on the continent and operate seamlessly as one unit, bring our ideas and funds together and fund projects across the continent,” she stated.

She further emphasized the need to move away from fragmented economic strategies and instead work towards a common goal, leveraging the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) to drive investment and trade.
“We need to stop thinking as 54 different countries. We need to operationalize AfCFTA, we need to harmonize regulations, we need to remove trade barriers, we need to create an incentive for Africa to invest in Africa,” she added.
Madam Kwofie also highlighted the crucial role of human capital in Africa’s transformation, stressing the need for investment in skills that will propel technological advancement on the continent.

“Human capital is one of the things we need to get right if we want to achieve transformation on the continent. Investing in human capital, not just for the technical skills but for the technological skills amongst others,” she noted.
She pointed out that Africa has immense talent yet continues to rely on external technological solutions. According to her, it is time to harness local expertise to develop solutions tailored to the continent’s needs.
“We tend to buy technology from the West when we have so much talent on the continent. MTN has a group of software developers, and they are all Africans developing technology for Africa’s future. It is possible.”

MTN Ghana remains committed to supporting initiatives that foster economic growth, digital transformation, and infrastructure development in Africa. As a leading telecommunications company, MTN continues to champion digital innovation and investments that contribute to a prosperous and interconnected Africa.
The Africa Prosperity Dialogue is organised by the Africa Prosperity Network and is aimed at achieving deeper economic integration between African states in outlining its industrialisation priorities. Among the topics under discussion were the policies that will ensure the successful implementation of the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

Source: News Ghana

Digital connectivity key to Africa’s vision of single market – MTN CEO

Stephen Blewett

The Chief Executive Officer of MTN Ghana, Stephen Blewett, has highlighted the crucial role of digital connectivity in realizing Africa’s vision of a single market.

Speaking at the Africa Prosperity Dialogue (APD) 2025, Mr Blewett stressed that discussions surrounding Africa’s economic integration would be meaningless without significant investment in digital infrastructure and connectivity.kamasa 0260702530(106)

kamasa 0260702530(106)© Provided by Business and Financial Times

In view of that, the CEO indicated that MTN as Africa’s leading telecommunications provider is proud to play a pivotal role in advancing digital access, integration, and economic inclusion as continent works towards achieving prosperity.

“At MTN Ghana and the MTN family we’re particularly excited about these important conversations and are proud to play a pivotal role as Africa’s leading telecommunication provider. This is because all the discussions of delivering Africa’s single market will come to naught without investing in connectivity and integration.kamasa233

kamasa233© Provided by Business and Financial Times

“Digital access, internet connectivity, digital literacy, and skills, as well as promotion of E commerce, mobile banking and a host of others are central to our vision for Africa,” he stated.

According to Mr Blewett, MTN’s commitment to digital transformation aligns with the company’s Ambition 2025 strategy, which aims to accelerate economic and social progress through cutting-edge telecommunications solutions.

He noted that by investing in digital infrastructure, the company seeks to enhance cross-border trade, financial inclusion, and access to technology that will enable African businesses and individuals to thrive.

“As a brand that is at the heart of harnessing Africa’s potential, this platform presents a fine opportunity for MTN to position itself as a valued partner in Africa’s progress, steering critical conversations and shaping our future.”

MTN Ghana, through its extensive investments in mobile connectivity and digital solutions, has been a key enabler of economic growth and financial inclusion. The company continues to bridge the digital divide by expanding access to high-speed internet and mobile money solutions, ensuring that businesses and individuals, regardless of their location, are connected to opportunities.

Addressing policymakers, industry leaders, and key stakeholders from across the continent, Mr Blewett underscored the importance of overcoming Africa’s historical challenges and shifting the narrative towards innovation, youth empowerment, and economic resilience.kamasa233 (3)

kamasa233 (3)© Provided by Business and Financial Times

“For many years, Africa has suffered a poor image as the world’s poster child with negative stereotypes such as war, disease, famine, and many others. Whilst the continent does have its challenges, the continent is a vibrant one with a youthful population that can be harnessed for productivity with the right skill set.”AFRICAN PROSPERITY DIALOGUES 2025 (10)

AFRICAN PROSPERITY DIALOGUES 2025 (10)© Provided by Business and Financial Times

The Chief Executive further urged leaders across various sectors to work together in the spirit of Pan-African cooperation to shape the continent’s narrative and seize emerging opportunities.

“When I think of these things, I am always reminded that our time is now. It’s a time of action, and we need to remember that we need to move forward with that mindset. Together, in the true spirit of Pan-African cooperation, we can control and shape our narrative, and I’m confident that we will seize the opportunities for our continent,” he stated.

The APD is an annual platform that convenes Africa’s leadership from both the public and private sector to engage, forge partnerships and commit to accelerating the creation of the continent’s single market as enshrined in the AfCFTA agreement for a prosperous Africa.

APD provides the space for Africa’s political and business leaders to work closely together to shape, drive, and deepen intra-African trade and investments to achieve the full implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

Source: www.msn.com

New MTN Cameroon CEO meets industry leaders

MTN

Wanda Matandela, MTN Cameroon’s new CEO, began his first visit to the West African country this week, joined by a delegation led by outgoing CEO Mitwa Kaemba Ng’ambi.

During this introductory tour, the MTN Cameroon delegation engaged with esteemed government officials including Prime Minister Joseph Dion Ngute, technical advisor of Cameroon, Jean-Claude Ayem Mauger.

The group also met with the minister of Posts and Telecommunications, Minette LIBOM LI LIKENG, director general of the Telecommunications Regulatory Board, and Professor Philemeon Zoo Zame, director general of the National Agency for Information and Communication Technologies.

The meetings gave Ng’ambi the opportunity to formally introduce her successor to senior executives and say goodbye.

Ng’ambi will begin her new post as CEO of MTN Côte d’Ivoire on March 1, 2025, the same day Matandela takes over as CEO of MTN Cameroon.

Matandela was MTN SA’s Chief Commercial Operations Officer until his current appointment.

He is a seasoned business executive with extensive expertise in ICT, financial services, and entertainment industries.

The telco executive has a BCom Accounting degree, a Masters in Information Systems from Wits, an MBA from Stellenbosch, and a Certificate in Leadership from IMD, Switzerland

Source: extensia.tech

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

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Misconceptions About Telecom Companies Involvement During Elections

1.Q: Do telecom companies support political parties?

A: No, telecom companies do not support political parties.

2.Q: How involved are telecom companies in monitoring and collating election results?

A: Telecom companies are not involved in monitoring and collating election results.

3.Q: Do telecom companies sell our data?

A: Telecom companies are law-abiding and do not sell customer data as the Data Protection Act, 2012, Sections 88 and 89, prohibits the purchase and sale of personal data.

4.Q: Why am I receiving messages from political parties?

A: The political parties could be using their own generated database.

5.Q: Do telecom companies listen to customers’ phone conversations?

A: No. Telecom companies do not and are incapable of listening to customers’ conversations. Such a practice is unethical and would infringe on customer privacy.

6 Q: Can telecom companies interfere with or manipulate election results?

A: No. Telecom companies cannot access the voting systems or election data to manipulate election outcomes. Telecom companies act as independent bodies and are not party-affiliated. You can be assured of our neutrality.

7. Q: Are telecom companies involved in the election processes?

A: No, telecom companies are limited to ensuring stable connectivity throughout the election process.

8. Q: Can telecom companies intercept voting information?

A: No. Voting data is typically encrypted and transmitted securely by the Electoral Commission, and telecom companies cannot access those systems or databases. Telecom companies strictly adhere to data privacy principles in their operations.

9. Q: Can telecom companies block or throttle election-related content?

A: As ethical and responsible corporate entities, telecom companies remain politically neutral throughout the election process. We do not post or support political content and will take down any election-related content that would compromise our position or reputation. This does not affect the constitutional rights of Directors or staff to post any election-related content.  

10. Q: Can telecom companies collude with governments or parties to manipulate elections?

A: No. This is highly unlikely due to our commitment to high ethical standards, regulatory oversight, legal frameworks, and adverse reputational risks.

11. Q: Have telecom companies been implicated in election interference in Ghana?

A: No telecom company in Ghana has ever been implicated in election interference.

12. Q: How are telecom companies demonstrating election integrity?

A: Through collaboration with all stakeholders within the electoral ecosystem. Telecom companies are committed to a culture of openness in the conduct of their business. In line with their Code of Ethics, telecom companies, directors, and employees are prohibited from engaging in any activity compromising the various companies’ political neutrality or public perception.

The telecom companies’ position does not diminish their respect for the constitutional rights of directors or employees to personal participation in the election process and rights to absolute privacy.

Over 3,000 students and worshippers in Accra educated on misinformation & disinformation

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Leadership and members of the Ghana Chamber of Telecommunications, the EMIs Chamber of Ghana, and the Cyber Security Authority, have reiterated the need for the general public to be careful in how they receive, interact with and disseminate information both online and offline. The advice was given during separate educational engagements in Accra on Friday October 25, 2024.

The first stop of the engagement, which was part of the 2024 National Cyber Security Awareness Month (NCSAM) under the theme “Combating Misinformation/Disinformation in a Digitally Resilient Democracy; Our Collective Responsibility”, was at the Labone Senior High School in Accra. During the hour-long engagement, experts from the telecommunications industry educated about 3,000 students and teachers, on the dangers of misinformation/disinformation and provided tools to help them identify and counter misinformation, while protecting themselves, their loved ones and their properties.

The various presenters (including Regine Bambara, Gillian Boateng, Samuel Bartels  and Angela Adu-Ampofo) who took time to highlight the differences between misinformation and disinformation, also stressed on the need for the students to not just be careful of how they interact with and share information they encounter, but to also protect their personal information from unscrupulous sources.

In addition to the importance of verifying sources, the speakers also touched on fact-checking information, and critically evaluating the credibility of news sources before sharing or believing them. The students were also taught how to spot common tactics used by purveyors of fake news, such as sensational headlines, clickbait, and misleading images.

During and after the engagement, students actively asked questions, which were addressed by representatives from the Ghana Chamber of Telecommunications, the EMIs Chamber of Ghana and the CSA.

Later in the day, the team extended the campaign to the National Mosque of Ghana, where they engaged hundreds of worshippers on the same issue of misinformation and disinformation along with their varied negative impact, as well as steps to combat the menace.

The speaker Mr. Ibrahim Musah who was joined by the CEO of the Ghana Chamber of Telecommunications and the EMIs Chamber Ing.Dr. Kenneth Ashigbey, representatives of members and representatives of the CSA, emphasized the importance of critically evaluating information before sharing, especially as the country approaches an election year.  Mr. Ibrahim further stressed on the need for the worshipers present and online, to play their part in limiting the spread of misinformation and disinformation, debunking same, and leaving a holy life to the benefit of all.

On his part Ing. Dr. Ashigbey thanked the leadership of the National Mosque of Ghana for the opportunity to educate and engage the worshippers. In his earlier interaction with the students at Labone SHS, Ing. Dr. Ashigbey stressed in the need for the students to prioritize their understanding and utilization of new technology.

NCSAM 2024

This year’s NCSAM themed “Combating Misinformation/Disinformation in a Digitally Resilient Democracy; Our Collective Responsibility” aims to spotlight the widespread issue of misinformation and disinformation, particularly their potential to undermine electoral integrity, peace, and security.

Organized under the auspices of the Ministry of Communication and Digitalisation, the month-long program is designed to foster collaboration and coordination among stakeholders, developing comprehensive strategies to curb the spread of false information online.

MTN Ghana localised ownership inches to 24.1% — Still below 30% target

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Following the scrip dividend issued in quarter two (Q2) of this year, which resulted in a localization movement from 25.0 per cent to 23.2 per cent, the telecom giant has since achieved an additional 0.9 per cent localized ownership in Scancom PLC in Q3 2023, bringing the total reported localization to 24.1 per cent.

In its Q3 report on the performance of the company as published by the local bourse, Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE), the company said, “localization of both Scancom PLC and Mobile Money Limited remains a priority for MTN Ghana and we will continue to work with the relevant regulators and stakeholders to achieve the localization targets”.

The company was expected to complete a target of 3 per cent local participation by end of 2022 but has not been able to achieve that.

Financial performance
MTN Ghana continued its dominance as the only profitable telecom company in the country having posted a profit after tax for GH¢2.8 billion. This represents a 32.0 per cent increase over the same period last year.

Voice revenue grew by 14.5 per cent year on year (YoY) to GH¢2.7 billion.

Meanwhile the company said the impact of the National Communications Authority’s (NCA) directive on SIM disconnections continued to impact our subscriber base, resulting in a 9.3 per cent YoY decrease to 25.8 million.

Against this background, voice revenue contribution to service revenue declined from 33.4 per cent to 28.1 per cent.

The company recorded a strong data revenue growth of 47.6 per cent YoY to GH¢4.1 billion. This is attributable to a 2.7 per cent YoY increase in the number of active users and continued increases in MB consumed per active user per month (+36.0% YoY).

This led to data traffic rising by 39.6 per cent YoY. The contribution of data revenue to service revenue increased from 39.5 per cent to 42.8 per cent YoY.

Mobile money (MoMo) revenue increased by 51.6 per cent YoY to GHS2.1 billion. This was underpinned by growth of 63.4 per cent YoY in cash-out revenue, a 63.2 per cent YoY increase in advanced services revenue and 15.0 per cent YoY growth in peer-to-peer (P2P) revenue.

The contribution of MoMo revenue to service revenue increased from 19.1 per cent to 21.3 per cent YoY.

Digital revenue decreased by 15.0 per cent YoY to GH¢96.3 million. However, the company said it has observed a positive turn-around in the third quarter, with a 3.5 per cent QoQ growth, and expect it to continue through the fourth quarter and beyond.

It said improvements made to its myMTN app, music and game offering helped grow active digital subscribers by 15.9 per cent YoY to 3.9 million. The contribution of digital to service revenue decreased from 1.6 per cent to 1.0 per cent YoY.

Earnings Before Tax, Debentures and Amortisation (EBITDA) increased by 32.6 per cent YoY to GH¢5.4 billion with a margin decline of 1.5 percentage points (pp) to 56.0 per cent due to the impact of elevated inflation.

“We remain committed to executing our expense efficiency programme, the impact of which continues to reduce the full exposure of the current macroeconomic challenges on the business,” it said in the report.

The company said a net finance cost increase of 51.5 per cent YoY to GH¢335.3 million for the period was driven by a relatively higher growth in finance cost.

Finance costs increased by 48.6 per cent YoY to GH¢528.3 million, driven by high interest rates and growth in interest expense from leases (IFRS 16).

This was mitigated by a 43.9 per cent YoY increase in finance income to GH¢193.0 million from gains on investments in fixed short-term securities.

Operational and financial review
MTN Ghana delivered a 36.0 per cent YoY increase in service revenue, driven mainly by growth in voice, data and MoMo.

This was underpinned by the continued execution of the company’s new vision dubbed: Ambition 2025, and sustained investments in capital expenditure (capex) to support improvements in service quality and the expansion of network capacity and coverage.

“We continued to improve on investments in technology and quality of service with total capex of GH¢2.9 billion spent during the nine-month period.

As part of the network expansion plan, we rolled out 193 2G, 196 3G and 193 4G sites, reaching a total of 4,455 4G sites nationwide with 4G coverage at 99.3 per cent. Core capex excluding Right-of-Use cost was GH¢2.2 billion.”

Tax compliance
MTN Ghana in its show of commitment and resolve to remain a credible corporate citizen, stayed tax compliant within the period.

It contributed GH¢4.0 billion in direct and indirect taxes, as well as GH¢313.4 million in fees, levies and other payments to governmental agencies for the nine-month period ending September 2023.

“Our commitment to socioeconomic development continues to be a priority and we look forward to continuing to play our part in Ghana’s sustainable development.

National roaming update
With regard to updates on national roaming, it said the company would help facilitate universal access and accelerate digitalization in line with Ghana’s ambitions of becoming a leading digital economy.

“MTN Ghana continues to be committed to making progress on national roaming partnerships with AT (formerly AirtelTigo) and Vodafone.

Discussions for a longer-term agreement with both companies are in the final stages of completion,” it said.

Source: Charles Benoni Okine (Graphic online)