MTN had 158,6m customers at the end of September, a 4,1% increase for the quarter, from 152,3m at the end of June, the JSE-listed emerging-markets telecommunications operator said on Thursday.

The subscriber contribution between MTN’s three main regions has remained relatively unchanged. South and East Africa region contributed 23% (June: 22%) of the Group’s total subscribers, while West and Central Africa and Middle East and North Africa contributed 44% (45%) and 33% (33%) respectively.

In SA, the subscriber base grew by 5,9% to 21m. “Net connections for the SA operation reflected a strong improvement during the quarter,” the group said.

Subscriber growth in Nigeria was slower because of subscriber registration, with the total market declining from 82,7m to 81,8m GSM users.

SA’s blended average revenue per user (Arpu) remained stable at R133,80. Average outgoing minutes of use increased “marginally” for the quarter.

MTN Nigeria recorded a 1,4% increase in its subscriber base to 41,1m. Following the introduction of new pricing plans and segmented value proposition during August and September, net connection performance improved during the quarter, particularly in September.

MTN Nigeria received a notice from the Nigerian Communications Commission that it, together with two other operators, had not complied with quality-of-service requirements.

The subsidiary had 30 days from 1 November to meet set targets in terms of improving its network quality. If not, it could face the prospect of new sales of Sim cards being stopped and the imposition of a financial penalty.

Nigerian Arpu remained stable despite a marginal reduction in tariffs.

The number of subscribers in Iran climbed by 3,5% to 33,3m, with Arpu stable at US$7,90.

MTN defined a subscriber as a customer who had generated revenue within the last 90 days.

Data growth continued to be “robust” across the group, contributing 21% (13% excluding SMS) and 6% (3% excluding SMS) of revenue (excluding handsets and accessory revenue) in SA and Nigeria respectively. — Staff reporter, TechCentral