Eswatini (Swaziland) - Telecoms, Mobile and Broadband - Statistics and Analyses

Eswatini (Swaziland) - Telecoms, Mobile and Broadband - Statistics and Analyses

Eswatini’s mobile sector shows continuing growth

The penetration rate in Eswatini’s mobile market has been buttressed by the common practice of subscibers to have SIM cards from MTN Eswatini and its two smaller competitors, so enabling them to make cheaper on-net calls. The vast majority of mobile calls made are on-net, which encourages MNOs to offer competitive pricing and discounts on their own networks. With off-net calls, costs are partly determined by the MTR, and so calls are more expensive. On-net promotions are the main driver for multiple SIM card use. Handsets sold in the country commonly allow for dual SIM cards, making its easier for subscribers to switch between networks for each call when required.

Recognising that there was no effective competition in the voice call termination market, the regulator determined that the three operators had to adopt various obligations of the 2013 Electronic Communications Act and the 2016 Electronic Communications (Interconnection) Regulations. These collectively will see a reduction in termination rates in stages through to March 2023.

In common with most markets globally, subscribers in Eswatini have responded to the particular circumstances of the pandemic by making greater use of mobile voice and data services. The volume of domestic voice calls increased 26% in the year to March 2021, reaching 3.4 billion minutes, and a similar increase is expected to have been maintained for the rest of the year.

The country has long had some of the highest charges for mobile data services in Africa, and the lack of affordability held back consumer take-up of services. To help address this, MTN Eswatini in late 2020 reduced the cost of postpaid monthly data bundles by 70% and of prepaid packages by 32%. This greatly supported the development of the sector to coincide with a pandemic-related increase in traffic.