MTN has inked a global agreement with Norway's Opera Software to boost mobile Internet services across Africa and the Middle East by offering the Opera Mini mobile Web browser.
According to MTN, the deal will provide MTN subscribers with a more affordable, user-friendly and faster mobile Web experience. By using Opera Mini, users get the most out of the Web, plus get one-click access to MTN content portals via their Opera Mini start page, the telco says.
Opera Mini is a Web browser designed primarily for mobile phones, smartphones and personal digital assistants. In March 2011, it surpassed 100 million users and two billion daily page views.
“By offering faster access to Web sites and easy entry to MTN portals, MTN subscribers can reach the content they want, with less frustration and less expense. With just one click, customers have music, news, games, and information on MTN products and services at their fingertips,” says Christian de Faria, MTN Group's chief commercial officer.
“We are eager to bring the best Web experience to Africa and the Middle East, and working with MTN Group's network enables us to achieve that. We have seen incredible uptake of Opera Mini in that geography so far, and we look forward to building on that success with one of the region's leading mobile communications providers,” says Lars Boilesen, CEO of Opera Software.
Under the agreement, MTN will centrally roll out a tailor-made version of Opera Mini to each of its 21 markets, with localised links and content.
WWW Strategy MD Steven Ambrose points out that Opera Mini is an effective implementation with efficient use of data and server side compression.
However, he notes that the speed of the browser will often be affected by operator bandwidth allocation and not actual Web site delivery issues, as more and more Web sites recognise mobile browsers and adjust their content and format to suit.
Ambrose also believes the instillation and branding of the Opera browser is more a coup for Opera Software than MTN, and will do little to nothing to enhance competition or assist MTN to gain any competitive-edge in the various markets.
“What it will achieve is a measure of data usage efficiency and create a slightly better browser experience for customers on a low bandwidth connection, with a slightly lower cost to the user,” he says.
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