Ghana’s mobile war: Vodafone takes rates fight to MTN
It has long been established that there is a mobile war going on in Ghana among the mobile phone companies.
There are six mobile phone companies licensed to do business in Ghana currently. These are Tigo, MTN, Vodafone, Zain, Kasapa and Glo. Each of these is launching aggressive marketing strategies to outdo the other to win more customers.
One of the recent antics to win more customers is the strategy by Vodafone to presumably win MTN customers.
On Saturday July 18, 2009, Vodafone sent an SMS message to its customers announcing: “When calling MTN from Vodafone, you now pay less than MTN calling MTN!”
And the message was followed by Vodafone’s slogan “All day, every day. Experience the network that works.”
Investigations by ghanabusinessnews.com revealed that Vodafone had reduced its call rates to 6%. According to a source at Vodafone, the reduction came into effect on Wednesday July 15, 2009.
Vodafone has indeed reduced its rates from the initial 153Gp per minute to 144Gp flat rate to all networks including calls to MTN.
MTN on the other hand charges 146Gp permit within the network and 160Gp per minute to other networks.
It is true therefore when Vodafone tells its customers that it charges for calls to MTN.
This is certainly like taking the fight to MTN, the mobile phone company with the largest subscriber base in the country.
Meanwhile, early this year Mr. Fred Quainoo, the Marketing Manager of Tigo had said there could not be innovations in the mobile telephony industry in Ghana, because the industry has reached its peak and nothing new can be introduced.
Well, it appears, there is a new innovation coming up, “the mobile phone price wars!”
It is yet to be seen how MTN would respond to this obviously direct challenge in the heated competition for subscribers.
By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi
I disagree with Fred Quainoo? Innovation does not cease when a market reaches its peak. Because the market is at its peak, the only means of attaining leadership is by attracting old customers of your rivals to you, using INNOVATION. Because there will be no new customers in a saturated market; only old switching customers will determine winners and losers. So at this point in Ghana’s mobile phone industry, the slogan should be “INNOVATE OR DIE”!!!
Its so true .. Honestly MTN are not living up to their expectations .. I spend so much money using MTN … When i switched to Vodafone its been GREAT . I talk more and spend less …
If you are business minded and looking to have a brighter future you will know its better to safe your pesewas to get richer … Im sure you have all heard the proverb that goes …little drops of water makes a mighty ocean …
A word to the wise is enough …
I think vodafone should rather spend their time and resources on improving their network. Let their existing customers be able to have almost perfect network services. This rather would earn them more customers.
The network is too bad. If you are not in Accra and Tema or the major cities in Ghana you are literally out of coverage area.