(Telecompaper) MTN Group said it had 204 million subscribers in 22 countries across Africa and the Middle East 30 September, up 1.1 percent from the second quarter. Group CEO Sifiso Dabengwa said the third quarter subscriber growth was lower than expected because of price competition and subscriber registration requirements across a number of markets. Subscriber growth was mainly hit by disconnections in Nigeria related to registration requirements, slower than expected subscriber growth in South Africa, as well as slower subscriber growth in Iran.