Quintus de Beer on MTN's plan to win at wholesale

Loading player...
For years, Cell C was the only game in town for brands wanting to launch a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO). That’s changing -- fast -- and now MTN has said it is positioning itself as the “go-to network backbone partner” in South Africa.
MTN South Africa wholesale executive Quintus de Beer joins Duncan McLeod on the TechCentral Show (TCS) to unpack in detail what this plan means for other network carriers and prospective MVNO players.
De Beer said MTN wants to be the “network of choice” for the wholesale market by 2025, even as rivals Vodacom and Telkom gear up to launch MVNO enablement platforms of their own -- in line with the requirements set out in last year’s broadband spectrum auction.
Already, both Telkom and Cell C both roam on MTN's infrastructure, with a number of MVNOs also launching on the operator’s network, including Pick n Pay’s PnP Mobile and Afrihost’s Air Mobile -- with more to be announced soon, according to De Beer.
In this episode of TCS, De Beer chats about:
* Why wholesale is so important to MTN
* MTN’s relationship with Cell C and Telkom
* The MVNOs on MTN’s network
* What’s involved in supporting MVNOs
* The market size for MVNOs
* Why it took so long for MVNOs to take off in South Africa
Don’t miss a fascinating discussion.
25 Apr 2023 6AM English South Africa Technology · Business

Other recent episodes

The company building a ‘living computer’ with human cells

The invention of the silicon transistor was fundamental to the success of the digital age, driving the core of the modern-day digital economy. The rise of generative AI has put hardware at the epicentre of the next wave of economic growth, with chip makers such as Nvidia and AMD reaching…
23 Oct 8AM 19 min

Why South Africans are starting to spend crypto, not just trade it

Cryptocurrencies are increasingly moving beyond being seen as an investment asset as users find more real-world uses in everyday contexts. It appears that crypto is becoming more like cash – with users prepared to use it as the point of sale. Crypto payments specialist MoneyBadger recently signed a deal with…
22 Oct 5AM 29 min

PayInc CEO Stephen Linnell on South Africa's payments revolution

South Africa’s payments ecosystem is evolving at a rapid pace. PayInc – previously BankservAfrica – sits at the core of the country’s payments infrastructure. As the builder and manager of the PayShap instant payment rails, PayInc is central to the Reserve Bank’s plans to drive digital inclusion through payment modernisation…
25 Sep 3AM 25 min