23 July 2025
Malawi Telecommunications Limited (MTL) has repeatedly reinvented itself, transitioning from a government-owned entity to a private subsidiary, and then adapting to the rapidly evolving African telecom landscape as a fierce competitor. 
Despite its status as a national mobile network operator (MNO), MTL faces many challenges common to smaller communication service providers (CSPs), including resource constraints and a competitive, dynamic market. The company grappled with high levels of theft and vandalism targeting its copper-wire infrastructure, prompting a strategic shift away from physical assets.
Instead, MTL redirected investments toward internet connectivity and inter-branch links for enterprise customers, alongside maintaining traditional fixed-line services. Recognising the explosive growth in mobile usage, MTL decided to expand into the LTE space. However, this new venture posed a significant challenge: their existing billing and charging system was outdated, costly to maintain, and incompatible with LTE technology. Overhauling the entire infrastructure was not feasible within their budget constraints. To address this, MTL turned to PortaOne for a phased, cost-effective evolution. “PortaBilling was very flexible. We felt it could do what we wanted it to, and the pricing and licensing model was very good. We can add as many customers as we want, and we don’t need to pay PortaOne,” said Kondwani Masiye, MTL’s head of business development.
Flexible solutions for market-specific needs
ystem (OCS), leveraging Yate as the mobile network core. Because monthly recurring subscriptions are less common in Malawi’s residential market, MTL appreciated the platform’s ability to customise billing processes to suit local preferences. Using PortaBilling’s accessible API, MTL integrated a solution that enabled the creation of monthly customer accounts with expiration options similar to pay-as-you-go bundles.
This approach offers customers the flexibility to auto-renew or let their service expire at the end of each term, providing a high level of control over their monthly expenses — an essential feature in a market where cost management is critical. Building on this success, MTL aimed to expand its VoIP services, including cloud PBX offerings for enterprise clients. For this next phase, PortaSwitch — another PortaOne product — proved to be the ideal solution. Its modular design allowed MTL to set up VoIP and SIP switches independently, facilitating a smooth migration of pre-paid residential voice customers to the new platform in batches. Meanwhile, post-paid, data, and enterprise customers could remain on their existing systems until the company was ready to transition them.
“The brilliant part of our PortaOne products is the integration between the two systems,” said Masiye. “There is the billing part, and then there is the voice switch. We are now migrating all of our PSTN customers over to VoIP and PortaOne.” This migration has been highly cost-effective, as MTL’s internal team has handled most of the development work, leveraging PortaOne’s comprehensive documentation and support when necessary. “The system is very well documented,” added Masiye, “and even today, my team often finds the solution they need in the documentation before reaching out for support. When issues do arise, the support team responds quickly — both over the phone and via email.”
Expanding offerings and market impact
Encouraged by these successes, MTL explored additional services, including PortaPhone — a cloud-based business phone system — after a demonstration. The company has since integrated PortaBilling with their SAP ERM and CRM systems, enabling gradual expansion into SMS and VoLTE services.
Most recently, MTL launched Malawi’s first locally offered cloud PBX system for businesses, utilising the Add-on Mart Kubernetes cluster based in Johannesburg.
Masiye believes this service will significantly ease enterprise communications: “small and medium businesses don’t want that physical box — they lack the expertise and can’t afford the cost. Our cloud PBX removes that need for hardware, making it easier for businesses to operate and move between locations without disruption.”
The company’s own headquarters was the first to adopt the new cloud PBX, serving as an ideal testing ground before extending the service to the wider Malawian business market later this year.
MTL’s journey demonstrates that even established incumbents must continually innovate to stay competitive. By adopting PortaOne’s flexible, scalable solutions, MTL has successfully navigated resource limitations, market shifts, and technological upgrades, positioning itself for future growth.
