MTN starts Iran operations
South African cellphone operator MTN has started commercial operations in Iran, aiming for a million subscribers by the end of the year, the group said.
MTN said in a statement that Irancell, in which it holds a 49 per cent stake, began operations on Oct 21 by releasing 350,000 SIM cards into the market.
The group’s coverage extends to Tehran, Mashad and Tabriz while coverage in two more Iranian cities, Sari and Karaj, is expected to be available within the next two weeks.
MTN said the Irancell network will expand to more than 70 cities by March 2007.
‘Economic fundamentals support Iranian mobile market potential and we are confident that we will reach our subscriber target by the end of this financial year,’ MTN chief executive officer Phuthuma Nhleko said in a statement.
MTN has said it expects 20 per cent of Iran’s population of about 70 million will have a mobile phone within two to three years and that it will capture 30 per cent of that market.
The company hopes to break even in Iran at the accounting level of earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation within a year although making a net profit will probably take longer.
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