Vodafone CEO: Bharti-Zain deal, good for mobile subscribers

Head of Vodafone group, Vittorio Colao, has welcomed the Bharti-Zain’s deal, saying that the deal would increase competition in the region and result in better services for customers.

The CEO of Vodafone said Bharti’s investment would contribute to the consolidation of the telecoms sector on the continent and force competitors to provide better deals for subscribers.

“The more we are, the more we will have advanced technologies and services, and costs will be lower for the customer as there will be more competition. Any investment in the telecoms sector is always good as long as it is for the long term”, he said, quoted by South African publication Business Day.

Vodafone, who has a majority stake in South Africa’s largest mobile services provider, Vodacom, is already competing with Bharti in India. Vodafone has operations in South Africa, Egypt, Ghana and Kenya.

The group is planning to expand in sub-Saharan Africa and focus more on data services.

Zain has accepted India’s operator reported offer of $10,7 billion for 15 of its African assets. The binding offer is expected to be finalized by March 25.