JOHANNESBURG – The reputation of MTN, Africa’s mobile giant, has been tainted again in South Africa after the communication regulator slapped the company with a R5 million fine for hiking the cost of its WhatsApp bundles in 2018.
“This price increase was delayed in the hope that additional network interventions may have provided some relief. Unfortunately, the situation did not improve and the stability of the 3G network remained significantly at risk,” it said. In the letter, Motsa highlighted the significant risk MTN’s 3G network was facing because of the extraordinary spike in traffic and requested leniency to affect the pricing changes before the seven-day notice period had passed.