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MTN launches 2014 Internet Festival [Ghana News Agency]
[September 02, 2014]

MTN launches 2014 Internet Festival [Ghana News Agency]


(Ghana News Agency Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Accra, Sept. 1, GNA – MTN on Monday launched the fourth edition of MTN internet festival dubbed iFest to create awareness about the internet and usage of data services on the network.

The month-long festival over the years has seen positive results and has contributed to the significant increase in data subscription and revenues.

Mr Serame Taukobong, Chief Executive Officer of MTN, said the iFest festival had been very well received in Ghana and MTN would not relent in its efforts to drive data usage among customers.

He said data contributed 17.4 per cent to total revenue for MTN Ghana for the first half of 2014, and that currently MTN was leading Ghana's data market with 50.54 per cent market shares, adding that last year, through iFest MTN recorded 2,500 new data subscription.



Mr Taukobong said the trend of growth of internet or data usage in Ghana was not different from what was happening globally, saying "Ghana now places 145th in the global internet ranking with 12.3 percent internet penetration, according to Global Internet Society's internet ranking." He said mobile operators were expected to increase the capacity of their network with enhanced technology to be able to meet the demand of growth in the next few years, especially with the increase of smart devices on the market.

He noted that the emergence of smart devices had contributed immensely to the increase in mobile data subscription on the network, and the number of smartphone users with access to data on the network increased from 525 in November 2011 to 1.7 million in June 2014.


"Despite the significant growth over the period, there are a lot more smartphone users on the network who are yet to connect data and they are our main target for this year's iFest campaign," he stated.

Mr Taukobong said considering the benefits of data usage to the growth of GDP in the world's economy, in terms of revenue contributions, it was essential to continue to educate people to embrace technology.

He said to ensure that customers realized the full benefits of the internet, activities lined up for the festival included experimental free browsing opportunities at selected MTN branches across the country, data clinics, bonus on bundle offer and quizzes among others.

iFest is a month long educational campaign on the relevance of the use of the internet in everyday life.

Mr Raul Dey said the festival aimed to educate customers on the various offers on data and devices, create entertainment, promote MTN digital services and position MTN as the enabler of internet.

He said activations of the data would be both internal and external including "what do you know" competitions, data activation competitions, opera mini competitions, 20 per cent bonus on data bundles throughout September, three months free social bundles and 10 weekly data clinics in all 10 capitals across the country among others.      GNA   // (c) 2014 Ghana News Agency (GNA) Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (Syndigate.info).

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