Movitel in US$117m expansion

would also cover the installation of 70 percent of all fibre-optic systems in the country.
Addressing journalists in the Mozambican capital Maputo, Conceicao said part of the money would go towards the improvement of Mozambique’s voice and data communication network service including the introduction of 3G and 2G in all major cities of the country.

Conceicao said to date, Movitel has built more than 1 800 mobile phone base stations across the Portuguese-speaking nation, a development he said represented more than 50 percent of all base stations existing.
Movitel is a consortium between the Vietnamese group Viettel (which is wholly owned by the Vietnamese Defence Ministry) and SPI, the holding company of Mozambique’s ruling Frelimo Party.
Vittel owns 70 percent of Movitel.

“This means that Movitel will not be dependent on the fibre-optic network of the public telecommunications company, TDM,” said Conceicao.
Movitel, which over the past two years heavily depended on the government’s infrastructure to boost its network, said it would no longer use any state infrastructure when servicing its customers.

“We now have our own equipment, base stations have been erected across the country, and, most importantly, we offer low call rates and data services to our 3G and 2G,” said Conceicao.

Movitel, which is growing fast, has tripled its fibre-optic density in Mozambique, from about 293 kilometres per million inhabitants to 787 kilometres per million.
Among other developments, Movitel, said it has raised the number of base stations from 75 to more than 151 per million inhabitants.
“Growth has been much faster than the company had expected, she added, and Movitel now expected to reach breakeven point in the third year of operation.

Investment would continue throughout 2012, Conceicao said, with the company aiming at a target of 3 200 base stations, and 20 000km of fibre-optic cable.
Although it is a newcomer to the market, Movitel is already claiming the largest system of distribution for its products, with 50 shops and 25 000 agents and sales points throughout the country.

Conceicao claimed that, in just three weeks of operation, Movitel already has over 400 000 subscribers. The Movitel licence was awarded in November 2010 and cost the company US$29 million.

Since then, Movitel claims to have installed a fibre-optic network covering 12 500km.
Apart from Movitel, Mozambique also boasts two other mobile network operators — M-Cel and Vodacom — with an estimated subscriber base of seven million between them out of the country’s 23 million population. — CAJ News.