Operator MTN South Sudan, part of the pan-African MTN Group, has secured a 15-year operating license from the country’s National Communication Authority. MTN had previously operated in South Sudan under a Sudanese license.
This, news reports say, brings the operator up to date with national regulations as it replaces existing, outdated terms. It also includes commitments to improve service quality, expand coverage and drive innovation.
Essentially, as NCA Director-General Napoleon Adok Gai noted at a signing ceremony in the capital Juba, the license covers cellular services and enables regulatory enforcement under South Sudanese law.
At the moment MTN South Sudan is the country’s largest telecom operator with 2.5 million subscribers and a 59.7% market share as of December 2022. The population of South Sudan is about 12.1 million.
At the ceremony MTN South Sudan CEO Ali Monzer pledged to expand network coverage to 90% of the population within the first ten years.
It’s certainly a pressing need – but affordability is also an issue. As news service Agence Ecofin points out, connectivity prices for broadband mobile are difficult to afford for much of the population The country’s still fragile political stability, basic infrastructure needs and logistical challenges could be obstacles to the rapid deployment of large-scale projects.
However, the good news, along with MTN’s coverage plans, is that the government plans to deploy its very first fibre optic network this year.
In addition a press release sent out last week by the Ministry of ICT and Postal Services, says that Future Union (FU), a Qatar-based investment group, has expressed interest in the South Sudanese telecommunications sector. It’s not clear, however, that any concrete decisions relating to this interest have yet been made.
