The telecoms industry in SA has grown by an estimated 44% during the 2005/6 financial year, enabling local operators to boast of exceptional revenue growth, the Centre for African Journalists (CAJ News Agency) established.
SA's three cellular operators, Vodacom, MTN and Cell C, have experienced gains in the penetration of the local market, which has increased from 49% in 2005 to 70.9% of the population, according to the latest statistics.
In particular, Vodacom, which has been the undisputed market leader, has been responsible for approximately 63% of this growth. In its 12-year existence, Vodacom has recorded the best financial results.
According to Vodacom CEO Alan Knott-Craig, customer growth was driven by a 53.3% increase in prepaid customers to 16.8 million, and a 26.3% increase in contract customers.
Knott-Craig says there are indications that the country is far from saturated, despite the market penetration.
"Potential for further growth in SA lies in continued growth in voice revenues, and continued data and associated technologies, through 3G, HSDPA, BlackBerry, mobile TV and Vodafone live," says Knott-Craig.
Taking a contrary stance, Africa's biggest cellular operator, MTN, does not share the optimism of Vodacom on the market share structures, and believes the South African market is close to saturation. MTN has adopted a strategy to shift its focus to the other African countries and move away from the South African base, in order to aggressively expand into Africa.
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