MTN Officially Launches Republic of Congo Operation
South Africa's MTN Group has announced the official launch of MTN Congo, following the Group's acquisition of Libertis Telecom (100% stake) in December 2005. As of last week, the MTN brand replaces all previous Libertis Telecom branding on products, at points of sale, including public phones, and in advertising and other materials.
Says MTN Group's Executive Vice-President, West and Central Africa region, Mr Christian De Faria: "The determination to expand, innovate and lead remains a hallmark of our Group's strategy. MTN Congo will benefit from the strong foundation built by Libertis as it harnesses the experience and skills of the MTN Group to better position its offering to the Congolese market. Being part of the MTN Group brings significant advantages, including the experiential ability to adapt appropriate services to the customers' requirements and introducing innovative technological developments."
Recording 222,000 subscribers (31 March 2006) in country with a population of approximately three million and an estimated mobile penetration rate of 16%, the opportunity for MTN Congo to facilitate communications access to as many Congolese people as possible is vast. To mark the official launch of MTN Congo CEO, Mr Yannick Bourdeu, announced the introduction of MTN Number4Life, which allows MTN subscribers to retain their original mobile phone number regardless of how often they make a call. In the months ahead MTN Congo subscribers can look forward to accessing more services available to MTN subscribers across the continent.
With a focus on customer centricity, MTN Congo will widen and strengthen its network of approved distributors and aims to install a Call Centre in every city. MTN Congo will also work closely with suppliers to bring better deals to customers.
MTN Congo plans to invest US$230 million in infrastructure development in the 2006 financial year. This will include the construction of its own core network between Brazzaville and Pointe Noir, which will significantly increase national coverage and reduce congestion in Brazzaville. Furthermore, it is expected that more than 60 new base transceiver stations will be installed by December 2006."
Posted to the site on 3rd July 2006