Botswana''s state-run operator BTC has launched mobile phone services, making it the third mobile service operator in the country. The company said the Be Mobile launch followed a successful trial and evaluation period started last November with the company''s staff and then extended last month with 15,000 free SIM cards to BTC fixed-line customers. BTC CEO Vincent Seretse said BTC has spent USD 20 million in the past year on networks, IT systems, operations and new branding. BTC will compete with the existing mobile operators, Mascom and
Orange, both of whom also rely on BTC''s national backbone for carrying long-distance traffic. BTC will now provide fixed,
broadband and wireless services under one common brand. The company has already started working on integrating the three lines of business into one cohesive organization leveraging synergies across the group''s companies. BTC aims to complete the integration over the next 12 months. BTC has invested in database systems to assess a customer''s likely lifetime value, the probability that a customer will switch providers and ways to retain the most valuable customers. The Botswana Telecoms Authority awarded BTC a service-neutral licence last year, permitting it to launch mobile services. Neutral concessions were also granted to Mascom and Orange, permitting them to enter the fixed-line market.
Source:Telecompaper
