Over one billion free text messages were sent by MTN subscribers, within the first four weeks of the Network’s introduction of its 300 free SMS messages per month offer to its subscribers, the company’s Q1 report has shown.
The telecom service provider had in March, this year, announced that its over 70million subscribers would be able to send 300 free SMS messages per month, as part of its ‘Y’ello Hope Package’, designed to mitigate the biting effects of the lockdown, meant to curb the spread of COVID-19 in the country.
The overwhelming figure seems to have proved wrong the argument put forward by some online critics, shortly after the announcement of the offer, that the mobile network should have offered reduced or free data tariffs, instead.
The free SMS package allows MTN Nigeria subscribers across the country to send 10 free SMS daily for 30 days to all networks.
“With the cost of an SMS pegged at N4, that means MTN has offset an estimated N4 billion worth of text messages in the first month alone,” the report stated.
Interestingly, the company believes the record of the next two months would surpass the one recorded in the first four weeks of the offer. The optimism is hinged on the fact that the premise to offer SMS incentives was based on statistics, which shows that over 30 per cent of MTN customers are not data subscribers and are among the most vulnerable Nigerians being severely impacted by the virus outbreak.
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