The number of Vodacom users passed the four million mark today (Sunday, 15 October) with the company saying that its success has been powered by the rapid acceptance of prepaid cellular by the emerging market.
"Prepaid has been the driver that has enabled Vodacom to attain this milestone in just over 6 years. We are ploughing back resources into the communities that have helped make it a South African success story. People in previously underserviced areas are making over 35 million calls a month from Vodacom`s 2 135 community phoneshops and are generating more traffic than our entire prepaid user base" said Joan Joffe, Vodacom Group Executive - Corporate Affairs.
Ms Joffe added that Vodacom was doing everything possible to deal with the inherent limitations in the amount of GSM 900 spectrum available to ensure that increased cellular traffic did not compromise its service to customers. Vodacom`s recent network and service upgrade worth more than R835-million has contributed to a 25% reduction in dropped calls. "Our optimisation drive will help ensure that we are able to maintain our world class service until such time as we obtain more frequency spectrum from the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA)."
Vodacom has shown spectacular growth in the six years since it commenced operations in 1994, when original forecasts were for just 250 000 customers within ten years. The company expects to add 6 million new subscribers in the next five years.
Vodacom`s growth compares favourably with the recently announced growth figures of the British-based Vodafone Group which has a 31,5% stake in Vodacom.
"Vodafone UK has just connected its 10 millionth customer. This is more than
15 years after it launched the UK`s first mobile phone network in January 1985. By contrast, Vodacom is confident of reaching the 10 million mark in 2005 within 11 years. This represents a compound growth rate in subscribers of approximately 180% per annum"
Ms Joffe added that the total number of cellular phones now exceeds the number of fixed lines in South Africa and that one out of every 10 people in South Africa`s population of 40 million is a Vodacom customer.
"What took the country`s fixed line provider more than 100 years has been surpassed by the cellular industry in less than six years, and Vodacom alone is connecting around 300 000 new customers a month," said Ms Joffe.
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