Vodacom to Invest $60 Million in Mozambique

Published on: 1st Jan 1970: 1:33am

Vodacom Mozambique is to invest more than US$60 million over the next two years to expand its network, Chief Executive Officer Salimo Abdul told reporters in the capital city, Maputo. The expansion comes after the number of customers increased 43 percent last year to 2.3 million, Bloomberg reported.

The network plans to set up 100 new transmission towers, mainly in the centre and north of the country - which is around double its expansion rate last year. The company is understood to be also planning an expansion of its own microwave and fibre-optic backhaul to reduce reliance on the national landline operator, which the firm blames for repeated network outages.

The move to improve the network comes as the country's regulator announced plans to award a third mobile license later this year.

According to figures from the Mobile World analysts, the country ended last year with around 6.55 million subscribers, representing a population penetration level of 36%. mCel is the dominant operator, with a market share of 65% - compared to 35% for rival, Vodacom.

On the web: Bloomberg - Mobile World - Vodacom Mozambique

 

Tags: [vodacom]  [planning]  [Mozambique]