Mocambique Celular (Mcel), Mozambique’s largest mobile phone operator, will expand its network footprint to cover the country’s 128 districts by 2009.
“To achieve this goal, Mcel will invest US$70 million to improve the quality of the network and expand its geographical coverage,” said CEO Gomes Zitha. “The money will also introduce third generation mobile phone services and provide broadband connection with higher speed and efficiency.”
Mcel’s revenue grew by 32 percent last year, with a net profit of $14 million. The company also expanded its network coverage with the installation of 79 additional base stations, covering about 60 percent of Mozambique and about 80 percent of the population.
Since 2006, Mcel has been undertaking “an ambitious program of modernizing its technological infrastructure and now has the equipment that can satisfy the highest expectations of an increasingly sophisticated market,” said Zitha.
The 2007 financial results were highly significant, he added, given the intensive competition between Mcel and its South African rival, Vodacom, for the Mozambican market. Mcel claims to be winning this battle, consolidating its leadership position with a market share of about 70 percent (a total of around 3 million subscribers).
