MTN Group counts 158.59 million subs end-September

South Africa’s MTN Group announced that it had 158.59 million customers across all its subsidiaries at the end of September 2011, representing a 4.1 per cent increase over the past three months.

During the quarter, MTN successfully maintained market share across most of its operations. Although social unrest remained a factor in some countries such as Syria, Yemen and Cote d’Ivoire, its operations in those countries were still able to increase net connections during the quarter.

The subscriber bases of the three regions continue to grow at marginally different rates and as a result, when compared to June 2011, the subscriber contribution between the regions has remained relatively unchanged. South and East Africa (SEA) region contributed 23% (June 2011: 22%) of the group’s total subscribers, while West and Central Africa (WECA) and Middle East and North Africa (MENA) contributed 44% (June 2011: 45%) and 33% (June 2011: 33%), respectively.