MTN open to ‘commercially agreeable’ MVNO deals

MTN South Africa was keen to take on Standard Bank’s mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) business, which went to rival Cell C, and is open to other such opportunities — provided they make commercial sense.

That’s according to MTN South Africa CEO Godfrey Motsa, who told TechCentral in an interview on Tuesday that although he can’t say that the company will “actively court” MVNOs, “when potential partners are looking for opportunities to share infrastructure, we have a model for that”.

He described the relationship between Standard Bank and Cell C as “non-exclusive” and said MTN remains open to working with the bank.

Cell C is the only operator in South Africa to date to offer a platform specifically designed for MVNOs. It has facilitated the launch of 19 such virtual networks on its infrastructure, including Standard Bank’s SB Mobile, First National Bank’s FNB Connect and retail group Mr Price’s MRP Mobile.

“If FNB or Standard Bank, or whoever, wants to talk to us, just like Telkom and Cell C have spoken to us (for roaming), we won’t shut the door,” Motsa said. “But it has to be commercially agreeable.”

Standard Bank last week took the wraps off SB Mobile, which will piggyback off the Cell C network, becoming the second retail bank in South Africa to do so after FNB.

The new venture is headed by Steve Bailey, a former CEO of Virgin Mobile in South Africa, who later went on to help launch a number of MVNOs. — © 2018 NewsCentral Media