South African mobile service provider MTN has just announced that they have rolled out a new 79c per minute flat rate on their network for pre-paid customers. Though the announcement comes today, the flat rate option has been in effect since 11 April.

The current rate option will be in effect for MTN’s Pay Per Second customers, while those who wish to take advantage of a flat call rate with have to switch to that payment plan by dialling *141*4*4# on their devices. Even at this rate, callers will be charged on a per-second basis so while a call of 60 seconds will cost a maximum of 79 cents, a shorter session will be priced according to that total.

MTN has said that the rate will be in effect for three months, though they plan on making it a permanent fixture.

MTN’s chief marketing officer Brian Gouldie said in a statement “Our new 79 cents flat promotional rate is designed to stimulate the industry to provide even more affordable services to consumers, understanding their need for connectivity.”