Commission and MTN reduce data prices
Johannesburg – Cellular network provider MTN says it has finalised an agreement with the Competition Commission on price changes, which were implemented from 15 April.
This follows the Commission’s Data Service Market Inquiry in December 2019 and negotiations between the commission and the cellular network industry.
MTN South Africa CEO Godfrey Motsa said: “We are pleased to have reached this agreement with the commission. It is a social commitment that we continue to advance the measures already implemented over the past number of years, to drive financial inclusion and reduce data prices.”
The agreement with the Competition Commission include that all sub-1gb 30-day data bundles, from R10 to R149, be reduced by up to 50%; provision of a daily free 20mb allocation of data to all customers; introduction of OpenTime, free access to education, health and employment websites that will be accessible without data charges. There will also be enhanced data usage and tariff information for all customers, to track usage and inform customers of their data spending habits.
The 20mb and 50mb bundles double in volume, from 20mb to 40mb and from 50mb to 100mb, without any change in price. Prices stay at R10 and R20 respectively, but for double the data. The 1gb bundle has a 34% price reduction, from R149 to R99, while 1.5gb is R149, a 21% reduction. Users in the 50gb and 100gb ranges have prices dropping 25% and 29% respectively.
