In a recent announcement via its social media handle on Twitter, MTN gets new number code 0760 for new customers to join the network. It announced that new customers will be getting numbers through a new number range which starts with 0760 and was granted by UCC. The telecom company has started start rolling out new numbers with 076 which has been added to its existing family of number ranges that include 077, 078, 031 and 039.
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Some familiar codes associated with MTN numbers which are 077 and 078 has now been completely exhausted according to Rhona Arinaitwe, the Senior Manager Communications at MTN Uganda. Numbers within these ranges have all been issued out to customers which prompted the telecommunications company to get permission for a new range.
New customers on the network will be given numbers with the prefix range of 0760000000 to 0760999999. As communicated by MTN, the new customers will gain access to all MTN services through this range. Customers can choose any number of their choice between the stated range to get connected to the network.
To apply for a preferred number on the network, one can visit any MTN service centre or Duuka with their original national ID and UGX 2,000 to buy a new sim card.
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MTN Chief Marketing Officer, Somdev Sen however explained that customers can still get the old number ranges subject to their availability due to recycling.
Phone number recycling is the reintroduction of a deactivated/disconnected number into the pool of available numbers eligible for assignment to a new customer. This happens when the previous owner of the numbers has not used their line for any activity for more than six months and has not formally notified MTN of their intention and interest to keep that number.
MTN was the first telecom company to operate in Uganda establishing itself in 1998. The company has hit several milestones since then with growing numbers of subscribers year on year and amazing progress through different initiatives to achieve market growth and serve the community as well.
Due to a larger number of subscribers, MTN gets new number code 0760
According to a financial report released this year, MTN Uganda enjoys a wide user base with the number of subscribers going up to 14.2 million users from 2019’s 12.6 million users. Uganda has seen a general increase in the number of smartphone users implying digital inclusion according to a report by the Uganda Communications Commission. By March 2020, it was recorded that 7,091,860 million people owned smartphones and had access to the internet.
Read more: MTN Uganda’s revenue grew by 9.5% in 2020
MTN data users grew by 34.8% to 4.6 million subscribers as the company recorded peaks in April 2020 compared to December 2019. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the company benefitted from higher data traffic as many were forced to shift some of their daily activities online like work and studies causing a rise in spending on data. As a result of tight COVID-19 restrictions, people were limited to a few activities that saw most of them channelling money they would have otherwise spent on other activities going into data.
The number of data users is not the only one that has risen because of the pandemic, active MoMo users have also gone up from 7.4 million to 8.5 million increasing MTN Uganda’s revenue in 2020 currently because of initiatives by the company like the zero rate on transactions during the coronavirus pandemic. This was a move by the company to reduce expenses seeing as many were cut off from their sources of income during that time.
MTN was named most admired brand for its contribution during the pandemic where it made several contributions to its customers and the country as a whole through different partnerships to ease life for many during the pandemic.
Read more: MTN Uganda awarded brand most admired for being helpful during the pandemic in 2020
In a nearly half a billion shillings move, MTN Uganda which stood out in the East African region supported National Water and Sewerage Corporation to promote the handwashing campaign to mitigate the spread of the virus while Uganda Red Cross Society (URCS)was supported to extend aid to impoverished communities.
URCS received UGX 297million for surveillance, screening, psychological support in the high-risk areas and border points across the country. MTN also provided UGX 220million to NWSC to provide relief to the masses of people living in water-stressed parts in and around Kampala.