MTN Says No Significant Financial Impact on Iran Subsidiary

South Africa's MTN has denied reports that its Iranian subsidiary would lose at least a months worth of operating income due to the ongoing political strife in the country. The networks have been ordered to shut down their SMS services and it is reported that voice calls are sometimes being restricted in some cities.

"MTN network is running in Iran and there is nothing wrong with it," MTN Group spokeswoman Nozipho Januray-Bardill told the Reuters news agency.

MTN holds a minority 49% stake in the Iranian network, while 51% was allocated to the Iran Electronic Development Company (IEDC).

Iran has two main networks, the incumbent state operator, TCI - which the Mobile World estimates ended Q1 '09 with just over 30 million customers and 60% of the market. Irancell ended the month with 18.3 million customers. There are also a few small regional operators with negligible subscriber bases.

Plans by the Iranian government to award a third mobile license was thrown into confusion last month when the original winner was disqualified and the regulator claimed to be talking to other companies.

On the web: Reuters - Mobile World

Posted to the site on 24th June 2009