FNB Connect cooking

FNB Connect recorded substantial growth last year and is close to becoming only the second mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) in South Africa to reach one million subscribers.

According to FirstRand’s interim results for the year ending December 2024, total data usage on FNB Connect’s network surged by 61% to 9.1 million gigabytes or 9.1 petabytes.

For reference, South Africa’s biggest mobile network measured a 32.4% year-on-year increase in data consumption in its last reported interim period ending 30 September 2024.

FNB Connect’s interim data usage growth also outpaced MTN’s 51% increase, despite not having uncapped fixed-LTE and fixed-5G packages.

The MVNO previously recorded 12 million gigabytes of data consumption for its full 2023/2024 financial year.

If consumption over the next half-year matches the first six months, the total data used would reach 18.2 million gigabytes, an increase of about 52% year-on-year.

Considering data consumption levels were showing an upward trend, it is likely that data usage on FNB will already be much higher.

Active FNB Connect SIMs increased 9% to 997,000, cementing the MNVO’s position as the country’s second biggest FNO.

The much younger Capitec Connect says it amassed over 1.3 million active subscribers on its network in two years.

FNB Connect saw more modest growth over the same period, growing from 879,000 customers in 2022.

However, FNB Connect’s strength lies in the revenue it generates with airtime and data sales. The division also handles electricity and Lotto ticket sales.

Revenue from these sources increased 14% year-on-year to R10.8 billion. Capitec Connect contributed just R69 million to the bank’s overall income in its last interim results.

Both businesses see the potential value of having an MVNO offering within their larger organisations. Capitec said it’s not necessarily about the revenue it generates but what it learns about its customers that’s valuable.

FNB Connect is South Africa’s oldest banking MVNO, with its 10-year birthday coming up in June 2025.

Over the years, the MVNO has introduced several innovative products, including the 2019 launch of its unlimited call packages, Talk Max and Talk Max Pro.

It also had very competitive data prices compared to the main mobile networks.

However, several more MVNOs have rolled out since MTN launched its fully-fledged MVNO platform in 2020.

Many of these operators have come in with aggressive prices and have launched their own well-priced unlimited calling plans by piggybacking on MTN’s SuperFlex product.

FNB Connect embraces rivalry

FNB Connect CEO Sashin Sookroo welcomed growing competition in the MVNO space in past feedback to MyBroadband.

“I think the advent of more MVNOs and more competition has actually got customers thinking about what they are missing out on,” Sookroo said.

“There has actually more uptake on our side [than before other MVNOs launched].”

Sookroo said that FNB Connect’s key difference was that it focused on retaining customers rather than acquiring them and ensuring they drive up revenue.

“We value people who transact, we value people who use,” Sookroo said.

“We don’t just want a high number of customers. We actually focus a large portion of our strategy on quality.”

FNB Connect customers enjoy substantial added value thanks to the eBucks Rewards programme.

“We’ve rewarded over 600 million in free Connect data and minutes,” Sookroo said.

“Over 75% of our customers save significantly through our value and bundle offerings. They save from R270 per month.”

FNB Connect has made several recent improvements to its offering, including adding MTN as a second roaming partner in 2023 and launching eSIMs in November 2024.

The MVNO plans to expand its product line-up further in the near future, including with fibre-to-the-home packages from major networks.