Brighter moments

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2018

MTN partners with KaiOS Technologies, China Mobile and UNISOC to launch Africa’s First 3G Smart Feature Phone

2017

MTN launches BRIGHT Strategy

2016

MTN celebrates ten years of its employee volunteer programme, 21 Days of Y’ello Care

2015

MTN acquires multimedia and telecoms company Smart Village as it starts rolling out fibre-to-the home across South Africa

2014

MTN named overall winner in Rwanda’s first Corporate Social Responsibility awards

2014

MTN voted the most valuable and most admired African brand in 2014 Brand Africa100™ rankings

2014

MTN wins Nedbank Sustainable Business Award for ReadySet and ReadyPay solar-powered charging solutions in Rwanda and Uganda

2013

MTN partners with Rocket Internet, a world-leading internet incubator, to enhance internet in Africa and the Middle East

2012

MTN launches commercial LTE network in South Africa, the largest rollout of its kind on the continent

2012

Newsweek’s Green Rankings names MTN among the top 250 companies in the world making a positive environmental impact

2011

MTN placed in Top 250 Companies in the World in 2011 Newsweek Green Rankings for Positive Environmental Impact Management (listed 123rd)

2010

MTN is the only African global sponsor of the 2010 FIFA World Cup

2010

MTN rated as one of 30 hottest brands in the world by Ad Age

2009

MTN Business deploys server virtualization offering in South Africa

2009

MTN hits the 100 million subscribers mark in Africa and the Middle East

2009

MTN launches mobile money in Benin, Ghana, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Uganda and Yemen

2008

MTN Group awarded African Mobile Operator of the year at the third annual CommsMEA Awards

2008

MTN pioneers instant messaging in South Africa, enabling groups to chat simultaneously in real time

2008

MTN sponsors South Africa’s oldest knock-out football tournament, which becomes MTN 8

2007

Online banking services, as well as MultiChoice to provide mobile TV in South Africa

2006

MTN reaches 40 million subscribers across the Group

2005

MTN is one of the first operators in Africa to bring 3G to the market

2004

MTN is listed in UNEP’s Global Top 50 companies for sustainability reporting

2004

MTN wins licence to operate in Cyprus, launching the country’s first 4G network in 2015

2003

MTN VillagePhone launched in association with Grameen Foundation, creating opportunities for entrepreneurs in Uganda’s rural areas

2003

MTN makes SA’s first video call, using its new 3G-enabled network

2002

MTN Business is launched to deliver dedicated connectivity solutions and services to the corporate sector

2002

MTN installs a solar-powered payphone on Lake Victoria for local fisherman

2002

MTN is the first operator in South Africa to offer General Packet Radio Services (GPRS)

2001

Formally inaugurated by Nelson Mandela, the MTN SA Foundation is established to manage MTN’s multimillion rand CSI fund

2001

MTN acquires first-tier ISP Citec to enhance data services offering to the business sector

2001

MTN becomes a tier-one Internet Service Provider (ISP), trading as MTN Network Solutions

1998

MTN International is established

1998

MTN becomes first cellular network in Africa to receive ISO 14001 rating for environmental management

1998

MTN offers SA's first two-way PC-to-cellphone messaging app as a free and international service

1998

MTN wins licence to operate in Rwanda, becoming its leading telecoms company within five years

1998

MTN wins licence to operate in Uganda, quadrupling the country’s teledensity in four years

1997

MTN acquires services provider Transtel Cellular

1997

MTN begins its international expansion drive

1996

MTN acquires South Africa’s biggest service provider in M-Tel, creating the blueprint for network owned service provision

1996

MTN develops telemetric app for vehicle tracking and theft recovery via GSM

1996

MTN launches prepaid solution PayAsYouGo, so that even unbanked South Africans can reap the benefits of having their own cell phone

1996

MTN makes Short Message Service available to its customers, heralding the age of SMSs

1995

M-Cell becomes a public company, with 25% of MTN Holdings and 60% of M-Tel

1995

MTN creates a community services division to increase teledensity in disadvantaged areas

1995

MTN offers free calls to emergency services for the first time in South Africa

1994

MTN changes the face of customer service in South Africa with Interactive Voice Response (IVR)

1994

MTN rolls out South Africa’s first GSM payphones, which can carry both voice and data

1994

The first call is made on the MTN network, the year Nelson Mandela is sworn in as South Africa’s first democratically elected president

1994

There are four million landlines in South Africa and only 1% of black South Africans own a phone