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Glossary

Terms and acronyms

	2G	Second generation	ECA	Electronic Communications Act of South Africa
	3G	Third generation	ECICSA	Export Credit Insurance Corporation of South Africa
	ADR	American depository receipt	EMF	Electromagnetic field
	AI	Africa Investor	EPS	Earnings per share
	ARPU*	Average revenue per user per month	eTOM	enhanced telecom operations map
	ATM	Automatic teller machine	EUR	Euro
	BA	Bankers’ acceptance rate	EURIBOR	Euro Interbank Offered Rate
	BEE	Black economic empowerment	EVD	Electronic voucher distribution
	BOT	Build operate and transfer	EXCO	Executive committee
	Bps	Basis points	FEC	Forward exchange contract
	BRM	Business risk management	FIFA	Federation Internationale de Football Association
	BTS	Base transceiver station	FIPPA	Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Act
	Capex	Capital expenditure	FMCG	Fast moving consumable goods
	CBC	African business awards	GDP	Gross domestic product
	CDMA	Code-Division Multiple Access	GHC	Ghana cedi
	CFA	Communaute Financiére Africaine franc	GPRS	General packet radio service
	CGU	Cash-generating unit	GRI	Global Reporting Initiative
	CSR	Corporate social responsibility	GSM	Global system for mobile communications
	CST	Communication service tax	HEPS	Headline earnings per share
	dti	South African Department of Trade and Industry	HIV/Aids	Human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immune deficiency syndrome
	E	Emalengeni	HR	Human resources
	EASSy	Eastern Africa Submarine Cable System	HSDPA	High speed downlink packet access
	EBITDA	Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation

*ARPU is measured on a monthly basis. The revenue (including interconnect fees but excluding connection fees and visitor roaming revenue) is divided by the weighted average subscriber base over the reported period.

	IAS	International Accounting Standards	MCharge	MTN’s virtual recharge mechanism
	ICASA	Independent Communications Authority of South Africa	MENA	Middle East and North Africa region includes operations in Iran, Afghanistan, Syria, Yemen, Cyprus and Sudan
	ICT	Information and communication technologies	MMS	Multimedia messaging service
	ifc	International Finance Corporation	MNP	Mobile number portability
	IFRIC	International Financial Reporting Interpretation Committee	MOU	Minutes of use
	IFRS	International Financial Reporting Standards	MPLS	Multiprotocol label switching
	IP	Internet protocol	NCC	Nigerian Communications Commission
	IRR	Iranian rials	NGN	Next-generation networking
	IS	Information Systems	NGN	Nigerian naira
	ISO	International Standards Organisation	NIBOR	Norwegian InterBank Offered Rate
	ISP	Internet service provider	NokNok	MTN’s instant social messaging chat service, launched in 2007
	ITIL	Information technology infrastructure library	NTC	National Telecommunications Corporation
	IVR	Interactive voice response	off-net	Telephone calls originating and terminating on different networks
	JSE	JSE Limited – the South African stock exchange	OIETAI	Organisation for Investment Economic and Technical Assistance of Iran
	JIBOR	Johannesburg Interbank Offered Rate	on-net	Telephone calls originating and terminating on the same network
	King II	King committee report on corporate governance 2002	PAT	Profit after tax
	King III	King committee report on corporate governance 2009	PAYG	Pay as you go
	LCs	Letters of credit	PIC	Public investment corporation
	Loerie	South African advertising industry’s accolades	PIN	Personalised identification number
	LIBOR	London Interbank Offered Rate	postpaid/ contract	Services for which the subscriber has a contract and pays monthly
	LTE	Long-term evolution	PTO	Public telecommunications operator
	NRHR & CG	Nomination, remuneration, human resources and corporate governance committee	prepaid	Services for which the subscriber pays in advance
	PSTN	Public switched telephone network	UCT	University of Cape Town
	PWC	PricewaterhouseCoopers Inc.	Unisa	University of South Africa
	RICA	Communication-Related information Act	USD	US dollar
	SAICA	South African Institute of Chartered Accountants	UGX	Uganda shilling
	SARS	South African Revenue Services	VGC	VGC Communications Limited
	SARs	Share Appreciation Rights Scheme	VoIP	Voice over internet protocol
	SDG	Sudanese pounds	VP	Vice president
	SEA	South and East Africa includes operations in South Africa, Botswana, Swaziland, Uganda, Rwanda and Zambia	WECA	West and Central Africa includes operations in Nigeria, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Benin, Liberia, Guinea Republic, Guinea‑Bissau and Congo-Brazzaville
	SHE	Safety, health and environment	WiMax
	SIM	Subscriber identity module	ZAR
	SME	Small and medium enterprise	ZCA
	SMS	Short message service	ZMK
	SP	Service provider
	SPE	Special purpose entities
	STC	Secondary taxation on companies
	SPV	Special purpose vehicle
	STRATE	Share Transactions Totally Electronic
	subscriber	A customer who has participated in a revenue generating activity within the last 90 days
	SYP	Syrian pound
	SRI	Social responsible investment index
	TCI	Telecommunications company of Iran
	TDM	Time division multiplexing