Vodacom Tanzania’s mobile data revenue grew by 34.2% to 273.7bn/- for the year ended March 31, 2023 according to the company’s preliminary consolidated financial results released recently.
The data revenue growth was driven by a 16.6% increase in data ARPU and 15.1% growth in customers, reflecting strong demand for data services supported by our continued investment into the network and the acceleration of smartphone adoption.
“The monthly average usage per customer increased 9.5% to 1.9 gigabytes driven by segmented offers under our ‘Just for You’ umbrella, supported by our world-class CVM and machine learning platforms,” the company’s Managing Director Philip Besiimire said.
Smartphone users grew by 27.9% to 5.3 million equivalent to 60.3% penetration of our data customers, with growth supported by investment in device subsidy and expanding the share of open market device sales.
During the fourth quarter, the company’s mobile data revenue was up 37.2%, with 19.3% higher data ARPU underpinned by a more constructive pricing environment.
Mobile incoming revenue declines
The Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange (DSE) listed company’s mobile incoming revenue declined by 3.7% to 46.3bn/- primarily due to 21.8% lower average incoming price per minute, following a 23.1% drop in mobile termination rate (MTR) from 2.6/- to S2.0/- per minute starting January 2022 in line with the regulatory glide path.
“The decline in price was partly offset by 23.3% higher incoming minutes, driven by aggressive market competition in voice offers, and growth in customers,” the company’s financial report shows.
During the fourth quarter, mobile incoming revenue was 4.5% higher, a result of an 8.7% increase incoming minutes driven by market competition, partly offset by 3.9% lower average price per incoming minute.