MTN Group and Opera Software have signed a new two-year agreement to offer a custom version of Opera Mini to MTN subscribers across 17 of its 22 markets.
Opera Mini is a mobile web browser that compresses webpages to as little as 10% of their initial size,which helps customers to save on data costs and network operators to save on bandwidth, thus enabling more people to access the mobile web.
In the past two years, MTN has rolled out a co-branded version of Opera Mini in 17 markets including Nigeria, South Africa, Ghana, Sudan, Zambia, Uganda, Congo, Rwanda, Swaziland, Cameroon, Benin, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Afghanistan, Cyprus, Guinea and Yemen.
The MTN co-branded Opera Mini browser has seen phenomenal uptake since it was first launched, with its user base more than doubling in the past 12 months alone.
MTN and Opera have worked together to promote the co-branded browser via different campaigns in all regions in which it has been rolled out. Opera has also partnered with local MTN operations to embed Opera Mini on devices sold by MTN.
Under the new agreement, Opera Mini remains available for new and existing MTN subscribers in each market, providing one-click access from the home page to services such as MTN Play and MTN Football.
According to MTN Group Chief Commercial Officer, Pieter Verkade, “The renewed partnership with Opera Software will allow MTN customers to continue to have the best possible digital experience of the internet using their mobile devices, while accessing content in a fast and affordable way.”
He adds that this is in line with MTN’s vision to lead the way in bringing a bold new Digital World to its customers, as Opera Mini works on 3,000 handsets and does not require a 3G network to access the web, providing customers with a fast and functional web experience.
“Our relationship with MTN is a strategic one, and we look forward to building on the success we have had in the 17 MTN markets where Opera Mini has already been rolled out. Our goal with Opera Mini is to make the internet more accessible to people via mobile phones, as well as to increase the efficiency of operators in keeping up with an ever-growing mobile web demand,” says Lars Boilesen, CEO of Opera Software.
