When MTN launched its social bundles in April 2018, with WhatsApp priced at 1Gb for R10, it prompted WhatsApp usage on the network to rise by 300%.
Mapula Bodibe, executive: consumer business at MTN, says an unintended consequence of low-priced WhatsApp data was an increase in demand on MTN’s 3G network.
The company is repricing its WhatsApp bundle from R10 to R30, although users currently spending less than R10 on WhatsApp per month will still have access to the low-cost bundles.
“These customers, who are primarily using feature phones on our 3G network, will still pay just R10 a month for their WhatsApp access which will be offered to them via MTN’s *142# menu on MyMTNOffers,” Bodibe says.
For other customers, making use of WhatsApp social bundles, the 1Gb WhatsApp bundle will become R30 as of today (16 July 2018).
MTN has, however, committed to continue its Free Twitter promotion.
A review of customer usage reveals that 99,1% of all Twitter users on MTN are using substantially less than 500Mb every day. Among all users, 80% are using no more than 10Mb of Twitter data per day.
“We want to keep bringing our customers closer to news, current affairs, family, friends and topical interests and MTN’s Free Twitter service helps make that happen,” Bodibe says. “We’re seeing a very small number of customers using excessive amounts of data via Twitter and those people will be the only ones affected by a cap of 500Mb per day.”