After selling 931 towers to IHS Africa for $151.5m to IHS Africa at the end of 2012, MTN’s long awaited 3G network is launching in Abidjan. Third ranked operator Moov Cote d’Ivoire is also rolling out 3G with the help of Ericsson. Moov’s rollout began in October 2012 and is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2013. MTN and Moov are playing catchup on rival Orange Cote d’Ivoire, who launched 3G in April 2012.
MTN and Orange lead Cote d’Ivoire’s market share, with 33-35% of the market each, followed by Moov (Etisalat) with a little over 20% of the market. Comium, Oricel and Caf’ Mobile (Aircom) are also active, with rumours that Maroc Telecom may be interested in acquiring unused spectrum from Warid Telecom.
