The initiative will be executed in three phases commencing in May 2025 until the end of 2026, MTN said in a statement on Monday. One of the conditions for receiving the device is that it can only be used with an MTN Sim card.
"In phase 1, 5 000 carefully selected customers will be offered 4G smartphones. The selection will be based on usage profiles, spending patterns and tenure, and will mainly be in Gauteng," the company said.
"In phase 2, more than 130 000 customers nationally will be offered the devices. In the third phase, more than 1.1 million MTN customers across the country will benefit."
The devices will come pre-loaded with a variety of applications. MTN didnt say if WhatsApp the de facto messaging app owned by Meta Platforms and used by millions of South Africans daily was among them.
MTN South Africa CEO Charles Molapisi said: "Regardless of where they live, we want to ensure that all South Africans can access the digital world."