Arieso Partners with MTN South Africa to Prepare Its Network for the 2010 FIFA World Cup

ariesoGEO to Help Direct Capital Investment into the Optimum Areas of MTN`s
Network
NEWBURY, England--(Business Wire)--
In preparation for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, Arieso, the leader in network
optimisation and customer centric network management solutions, has been working
with MTN South Africa to implement a major expansion project for its network
using its world leading geo-location solution, ariesoGEO.

Over the past two years, MTN has made extensive investments worth billions of
rands into the upgrading of its core network across the country to ensure its
readiness for 2010. "Our partnership with Arieso has enabled us to determine
accurately which geographic areas need the most attention, to ensure that our
network coverage is up to speed to handle the expected demand for both voice and
data services," said Sameer Dave, Chief Technology Officer of MTN SA.

He continued, "As Africa`s first global sponsor of this major international
event, MTN has a responsibility to ensure that our network provides a seamless
service to our current customers, and the thousands of international visitors
expected in our country next year for the World Cup."

Arieso assessed subscriber generated network data to determine exactly where
coverage needed improving. By understanding areas of high call density and
identifying locations where users experienced dropped calls, drilled down to an
individual building or street intersection, MTN has been able to target its
investments effectively to achieve maximum benefits for its customers.

For this project, Arieso analysed two week`s worth of data from MTN`s network
and assessed the traffic density, coverage, interference and pilot pollution to
determine which geographic areas of the network would benefit most from
additional investment. The data was collected in mid June, a period that
included two major sporting events with the British Lions rugby tour and the
FIFA Confederations Cup - a perfect data sample ahead of the 2010 FIFA World
Cup.

ariesoGEO was able to pinpoint exactly where to channel improvements without the
need for expensive and inaccurate drive testing. The information will be used to
improve mobile broadband coverage country-wide and reduce the number of dropped
calls in the network.

"As the World Cup approaches, we needed to explore different ways of enhancing
our customer experience," said Thaigan Govender, General Manager of Radio
Network Planning and Optimisation of MTN SA. "With many thousands of roaming
users set to arrive for the World Cup, MTN needed to ensure that its network was
running at the peak of its capabilities. ariesoGEO has provided MTN with all the
information it needs to make these decisions and puts it in a strong position to
provide a high quality user experience ahead of this major tournament."

ariesoGEO uses data transmitted by mobiles in the normal course of conducting a
call and requires no additional hardware, such as network located probes, or GPS
capability in handsets, to provide real time or historical analysis.

About Arieso:
Arieso is a leading provider of subscriber experience geo-location, capital
budget management and automatic network optimisation solutions for wireless
networks. Headquartered in the UK and with offices worldwide, Arieso delivers
innovative solutions that have achieved cost savings and enhanced network
performance for leading network operators around the world. Arieso`s clients
include AT&T, O2, Sprint, Telefonica and Vodafone. For more information, please
visit www.arieso.com.

About the MTN Group:
Launched in 1994, the MTN Group is a multinational telecommunications group,
operating in 21 countries in Africa, Asia and the Middle East. The MTN Group is
listed on the JSE Securities Exchange in South Africa under the share code:
"MTN". As at 31 March 2009, MTN recorded 98.2 million subscribers across its
operations in Afghanistan, Benin, Botswana, Cameroon, Cote d`Ivoire, Cyprus,
Ghana, Guinea Bissau, Guinea Republic, Iran, Liberia, Nigeria, Republic of Congo
(Congo Brazzaville), Rwanda, South Africa, Sudan, Swaziland, Syria, Uganda,
Yemen and Zambia. The MTN Group is a global sponsor of the 2010 FIFA World Cup
South Africa and has exclusive mobile content rights for Africa and the Middle
East. Visit www.mtn.com and www.mtnfootball.com.

Editorial:
Anu Ramani/Darren Willsher
+44 208 408 8000
arieso@eml.com
or
Sales:
Andy Burns
+44 1635 232470
andy.burns@arieso.com
or
Media:
Communication & PR: MTN SA
Bridget Bhengu - Senior Manager
+27 83 212 196
Bhengu_b@mtn.co.za

Copyright Business Wire 2009