Sudatel looks to double Senegal market share

DAKAR, June 11 (Reuters) - Sudanese telecom operator Sudatel SDTL.AD announced on Friday it was looking to more than double its share of the Senegalese market this year with new services and price cuts by its Expresso unit.

The Senegalese mobile sector is dominated by Sonatel's SNTS.CI Orange brand, with two-thirds of the market. Millicom International Cellular's MICC.O Tigo unit has most of the rest while Expresso has struggled to make inroads in its first year.

"Our market share in mobile is now five percent but is planned to be 12 percent very soon," Expresso Senegal chief executive officer El Amir Ahmed El Amir told a news conference.

Asked afterwards to specify the timeframe for the forecast growth, he said he expected it to take place this year.

Expresso officials announced immediate reductions of around seven percent in its pre-paid voice tariffs and a migration from its existing CDMA-based technology to the widely used GSM standard, on which it said it would base new services including mobile Internet, television and video-on-demand.

CDMA-based users of Expresso will be able to migrate to the new GSM services and keep the same number, officials said.

Analysts have long admired Sonatel's healthy operating profits but have suggested that a more aggressive pricing and service offer by Sudatel was a potential threat to its margins. Sonatel is 42 percent-owned by France Telecom (FTE.PA), with 27 percent in state hands and around 5 percent staff-owned.

(Editing by Bernard Orr)