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MTN SWAZILAND REDUCES TARIFFS BY 25 PER CENT

30/01/2015 07:24:00 BY KWANELE DHLADHLA

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GET VALUE FOR YOUR MONEY: MTN Corporate Affairs Manager Mphumelelo Makhubu speaking during the press conference.

EZULWINI – MTN Swaziland has reviewed its tariff schedule and changed all packages to per second billing (PSB), with intent to ultimately ensure that customers find value for their money.

This effectively means all postpaid price plans were changed to per second rating and customers will be charged three cents per second of every voice call made locally as of today.
Prepaid price packages were also changed into per second rating (Pay As You Go Standard) and customers will now pay 25 per cent lower; from four cents to three cents per second. This was disclosed by MTN Swaziland Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Ambrose Dlamini, during a press conference held at MTN headquarters, Mahlalekhukhwini House, yesterday afternoon.

Dlamini said what was significant about the new price plan, which came into effect at midnight, was that customers would now get the full benefit of every call they make. He emphasised that the reviewed tariff schedule would be applicable to calls made to local numbers only. The CEO said call rates for international calls remained unchanged.

“Customers will not be charged per unit as was the case with the Pay As You Go Standard, which charged customers E1.80 per unit even if they had not used the whole unit (60 seconds). Customers will now be charged precisely on a second basis,” Dlamini disclosed.

Explaining what he meant that customers would be charged precisely for calls they make, Dlamini made an example that if a prepaid customer makes a call for 30 seconds, they would not be made to pay E1.80 for the 30 seconds call. Instead, he said the company would now charge the customer for only the 30 seconds at three cents per second rate as opposed to paying the full E1.80 charge yet they did not call for a minute. This, in simpler terms, means a customer will now pay 90 cents for the 30 seconds.

Dlamini said the tariff structure review had been prompted by an outcry from local customers that MTN call charges were comparatively expensive. He said MTN would explore all avenues on how to make communication more affordable to customers. It should be noted that towards the end of 2014, MTN made an undertaking that it was going to review its tariffs with the intention to benefit Swazi customers. “For a number of years now, we have been constantly reviewing down our tariffs and at the beginning of 2010, we engaged in a vigorous cost containment programme which subsequently resulted in the reduction of our tariffs from E2.40 per unit to E1.80 per unit.