TELECOMMUNICATIONS
Loud and clear: Why MTN chief Rob Shuter is upbeat about the voice business
Voice revenues in Nigeria and other African markets are up, with population growth to support the sector
MTN remains bullish about the traditional voice-calls business, even as the mobile operator gears up for a shift towards data and digital services, says CEO Rob Shuter. He said at Deloitte’s Africa in 2018 Outlook conference that population growth, increasing SIM-card and handset penetration, as well as the potential for market share gains, meant "there is still a real business in voice and SMS". Sector heavyweights MTN and Vodacom are grappling with declining voice revenues as consumers turn to data-based platforms such as WhatsApp to make calls. In the six months to June 2017, MTN’s voice revenue in SA — where SIM-card penetration far exceeds MTN’s other markets — fell 5%. But voice revenues in Nigeria and other African markets rose. Shuter said that population growth would support this segment, adding that about 650-million people lived in the 22 countries across Africa and the Middle East in which MTN operates. "In the next three or four years, that 650-million is going to go to...
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