The mobile industry in SA has grown considerably in the 18-odd years it has had to develop. From the outset, in 1994, and for the next seven years to come, SA's first and second cellphone operators, Vodacom and MTN respectively, held a duopoly as far as the industry went.
When Cell C made its debut in 2001, SA's cellular contingent finally got a taste of competition, and would see two more players entering the market, Virgin Mobile SA in 2006 and Telkom's cellular arm, 8ta, just 16 months ago.
The following table lists SA's cellphone operators, in descending order of market share held, as per the latest statistics (2011) from World Wide Worx:
Vodacom: 48.9%
MTN: 35.4%
Cell C: 13.7%
8ta: 1.9%
Virgin Mobile: 0.5%
(Due to rounding, the above figures do not add up to 100%.)
In terms of active SIM cards in use, the numbers are:
Vodacom: 28.9 million
MTN: 20.9 million
Cell C: 8.1 million
8ta: 1.1 million
Virgin Mobile: 360 000
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