MTN has announced it will join Cell C and Vodacom in increasing the prices of many of its products, including existing contract packages.

Vodacom’s recent announcement that it would raise subscription fees mid-contract resulted in consumer backlash, with some questioning the legality of the hikes.

When it revealed the new prices of its various products, MTN said rising input costs compelled it to make these changes.

Like Cell C and Vodacom, MTN pointed to Eskom load shedding as a major contributor to increased costs, saying it has had to invest in generators and back-up batteries to power its base stations during power outages.

“All these cumulative costs have compelled us to review pricing as the last resort,” said MTN.

MTN’s new prepaid data bundle pricing kicks in on 23 April 2015, while the new post-paid prices take effect from 13 May.

The table below summarises the price hikes that are in store for MTN’s contract customers.

Contract MTNChoice voice Old price New price Change My MTNChoice 25 R35 R40 14% increase My MTNChoice 50 R70 R80 14% increase My MTNChoice 100 R135 R145 7% increase My MTNChoice 200 R270 R290 7% increase My MTNChoice 350 R400 R420 5% increase My MTNChoice 500 R570 R600 5% increase My MTNChoice 1000 R1,000 R1,050 5% increase MTNChoice data Old price New price Change My MTNChoice 20MB R15 R15 No Change My MTNChoice 100MB R29 R30 3% increase My MTNChoice 300MB R39 R40 2% increase My MTNChoice 500MB R49 R55 12% increase My MTNChoice 1GB R79 R85 8% increase My MTNChoice 2GB R119 R139 17% increase My MTNChoice 3GB R199 R209 5% increase My MTNChoice 5GB R299 R309 3% increase My MTNChoice 10GB R499 R519 4% increase My MTNChoice 20GB R999 R1,045 5% increase Non-MTNChoice contracts Old New Change MTN Presitge Plus R1,799 R1,899 6% increase MTN Sky R1,699 R2,099 24% increase Anytime Classic and TopUp R50 R55 Increased package size Anytime Classic and TopUp R100 R110 Increased package size Anytime Classic and TopUp R200 R210 Increased package size Anytime Classic and TopUp R350 R370 Increased package size Anytime Classic and TopUp R500 R525 Increased package size Anytime Classic and TopUp R750 R800 Increased package size Anytime Classic and TopUp R1,200 R1,300 Increased package size Anytime Classic and TopUp R1,500 R1,600 Increased package size

MTN also announced price hikes for some of its prepaid bundles.

These are summarised in the table below.