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Zain Sudan says spending $200 mln on mobile network expansion
A man uses his mobile phone as he walks past a Zain customer care shop in Nairobi, February 15, 2010. PHOTO BY REUTERS/Thomas Mukoya
31/07/2015
KHARTOUM (Reuters) - Zain Sudan plans to spend about $200 million in 2015/2016 to expand and develop its mobile network, the chief executive of Sudan's No.1 telecoms operator by subscribers said.
Elfatih Erwa told Reuters Zain Sudan had completed the installation of 4G high-speed long-term evolution (LTE) technology in the capital Khartoum but was waiting for a licence from the Sudanese government to operate it.
Zain Sudan, part of Kuwait's Zain, competes with rival mobile operators Sudani, a unit of state-owned Sudatel which offers fixed-line calls, and South Africa's MTN, plus a second fixed-line operator Canar.
Erwa said revenue for the first half of 2015 reached $355 million, a 6 percent increase over the same period last year. Net income rose to $78 million, up 31 percent.
Zain Sudan claims about 11.5 million subscribers, or 41 percent of Sudan's total mobile subscribers, and 60 percent of total sector revenue.
Erwa said Zain was still interested in purchasing a stake in Canar. "The desire is still there on both sides."
(Reporting by Khalid Abdelaziz; Writing by Yara Bayoumy; Editing by David Holmes)
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