SOUTH AFRICAN mobile operator MTN has announced it has commercially launched its operations in Iran having purchased a 49% stake in mobile operator Irancell one year ago.
MTN Irancell covers Tehran, Mashhad and Tabriz, and is due to be available in Sari and Karaj within the next couple of weeks, the company said.
MTN said it plans to expand the network to more than 70 cities by March 2007. The telecommunications group is targeting one million subscribers by the end of December this year; MTN Irancell having lowered its original target of 1.5 million subscribers by year-end.
It has released 350,000 MTN Irancell SIM cards in Iran, which are available in Tehran, Tabriz and Mashhad. To help it meet its subscriber target, the operator said its distribution network will be extended to 7,000 points of sale in the country by year-end.
“MTN is very pleased to be able to provide a quality cellular network service to the people of Iran. 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,” Phuthuma Nhleko, MTN Group president and CEO, said in a statement.
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