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Celtel reduces rates, launches US$5 card
By
Our Reporter - 17-06-2002 |
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Mobile phone operator Celtel Malawi Limited on Thursday unveiled a new tariff package that will give the consumer a 43 percent reduction on airtime charges and announced the introduction of a US$5 pre-paid airtime recharge card.
Managing Director Tim Bahrani said both the tariff reduction and the new airtime card were part of the company’s strategy to align itself to the tough economic situation in the country.
“The reduction of the rates will increase our customer base hence will not affect our operations,” he told a news conference in Blantyre.
Bahrani said the new tarrif package would wipe out Celtel’s reputation of being “expensive and unaffordable” to the public.
He said the US$5 airtime card would be available on the market in two to three weeks time. The new card will be an addition to the US$10, US$20 and US$50 airtime cards on the market since 1999 when Celtel was launched.
Going by the new rates, Celtel subscribers under the “Friends” tariff package will be paying US$0.29 per minute to call Malawi Telecommunications Limited (MTL) and Telekom Networks Malawi (TNM) subscribers down from US$0.45 during peak hours from between 7 AM and 7 PM.
On the other hand, Celtel subscribers on the “Commerce” tariff package will now be paying US$0.25 and US$0.22 per minute to call TNM and MTL subscribers, respectively at peak times and US$0.20 per minute off-peak hours
Celtel’s post-paid (contract) customers will be paying US$0.15 per minute off-peak hours to call TNM and MTL and US$0.24 and US$0.20 per minute, respectively to call TNM and MTL subscribers at peak hours.
Bahrani said Celtel has the “lowest” rates during off-peak hours and weekends to encourage people to use phones even after working hours.
He added Celtel to Celtel rates remained the cheapest on the market.
Besides the rates, Bahrani said Celtel, currently covering 17 districts including most parts of the Blantyre-Lilongwe MI road, would expand its network to Mchinji and Mulanje districts.
He said there were an estimated 40,000 active cellphone users on both Celtel and TNM networks against Malawi’s mobile phone market potential of 200,000. He said on its part, Celtel has 35,000 subscribers listed on its switch out of which only about 20,000 were active.
According to Bahrani, Celtel’s value-added services included free call line identity, free call hold and call wait facilities and e-mail access using a mobile phone.
Celtel operates in 12 African countries and in Malawi its shareholders are MSI Cellular Investments BV with 80 percent local shareholders Malawi Development Corporation and Indebank hold 10 percent each.
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