Virgin Mobile South Africa is re-launching itself. After six years
ago, it has failed to win the hearts-and-minds of mobile phone users. With the
emphasis on ‘per second’ billing, it set-out to capture 10 percent of the local
market within three years, but has found itself with just 0.6 percent.
But now it plans a fresh start, with a new - majority - shareholder in the
form of Middle East-based mobile virtual network operator FRIENDi, and with a
new CEO. With the first month completed, Jonathan Marchbank is implementing a
three-year plan.
This time he only wants 1.5 percent of the current
mobile market, with some 600,000 new subscribes to lift
Virgin’s total to the one million mark. New and improved voice and data
packages, as well as the introduction of new loyalty programmes and value-added
services are seen as the key.
AMETW’s Roy Johnson cites three, related reasons why
Virgin has not become a major player in the South African market.
These are: slow progress in removing the primary obstacle of high
interconnect fees; a failure to capture or possible overestimation of the youth
market potential; and a slightly uncomfortable fit between Virgin’s disruptive
business approach and the local conditions of consumer and regulatory
attitudes.
It is not Virgin’s fault that ICASA is under-funded, under-staffed and not as
authoritative as a regulator should be. Without timely and assertive support
from regulators, an MVNO model is disadvantaged.
The youth market was essential to Virgin’s success in the UK and the company
has sought the same opportunities in other markets. In South Africa, there is an
affluent youth market but it is niche. Assumptions about the developing
middle-class segment were made that have not been validated in practice, thanks
to global recession.
Finally, South Africa is not a mature market where Virgin’s ‘shake up the
market’ approach yields a unique advantage. Arguably Knott-Craig’s deployment at
Cell C – the hosting mobile network operator and one time share holder in Virgin
– has taken on this mantle. Virgin has had little to offer that had not already
been seen from Cell C or which could not be negated in impact by reactive
price-cutting or new service offerings from the incumbent MNOs. An MVNO’s
success depends on beating prices.
The MVNO Directory lists six mobile virtual network operators active in South Africa, although it notes that two are more correctly resellers or branded operations. For more, see www.MVNODirectory.com.
For more about Virgin's planned relaunch - and why Cell C is now a real threat to Virgin - see 'Virgin readies to sell its new vision thing' in 'Africa & Middle East Telecom-Week' dated 4 October 2012.
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