Apart from some final signatures, MTN`s Iranian project is on track to go live on 1 December and it expects to have a million subscribers within its first few months of operation, says Santie Botha, marketing director, MTN Group.
Speaking during the GSM Africa conference, in Cape Town, last week, Botha said the consortium, of which MTN owns 49%, is meeting all its licence requirements, "and apart from a few final signatures, we are ready to go live".
Botha did not indicate what the signatures were for.
MTN was awarded the second Iranian cellular licence in October 2005 after investing 270 million euros, representing 90% of the licence fee, with one of that country`s largest banks, Bank Melli.
Botha said the consortium`s network, IranCell, is set up in four of the country`s biggest cities, and commercial operations would begin in December. The company expects to gain more than a million subscribers within the first three months of operations. The network already has 250 base-stations operational and expects to install "thousands" more.
MTN has made a name for itself through setting up operations in countries that have been considered either investment, or politically, risky. It operates the largest network in Nigeria and its investment partner, Ivestcom, has begun setting up a cellular network in Afghanistan.
"Iran is a complex market, but it has huge upside, probably even more than Nigeria. However, unlike Nigeria, English is not widely spoken and this makes it slightly more complex," noted Botha.
Iranian media reports that the country, which recently received a windfall because of the rise in oil prices, only has 11% of its 65 million population connected to cellphones. It is also reported that the incumbent operator has a waiting list of six million subscribers.
The Iranian licence conditions stipulate, among other things, that it would receive revenue from the sale of SIM cards over 15 years, and that it would receive monies from the importation of technology, from frequency usage, and from domestic and international service charges.
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