MTN announced on Wednesday that its Côte d’Ivoire operation has paid 75% or CFA F 75 billion of the new telecommunications operator unified license acquisition cost to the government of Cote d’Ivoire. By Staff Writer
The GSM license was to expire on 1 April 2016, after 20 years of operation.
MTN was expected to pay 50% of the license cost amounting to CFAF 100 billion to the Government of Côte d’Ivoire 15 December 2015.
“By paying 75%, which is above the required 50% minimum, MTN Côte d’Ivoire obtains the extension of the operating term of the unified license for 17 years, for commissioning all services and products associated to 2G / 3G / 4G / LTE and upcoming new technologies,” the operator said in a statement.
“Through this new license opportunity, MTN Côte d’Ivoire is consolidating its positioning as the leading provider of the bold new digital world to the Ivorian market.”
MTN Côte d’Ivoire recorded a marginal decline in its subscriber base to 8,5 million in the period to end-September 2015, following the clean up of the subscriber base.
The billable minutes of use declined 5,5% year-on-year as the business faced increased competitive pressures from competition. Constant currency data revenue increased by 58,6% year-on-year and contributed 15,2% to total revenue.
MTN Côte d’Ivoire’s Mobile Money subscribers rose by 1,9% to 2,8 million. The operation continues to focus on expanding its 3G and LTE network to cater for the increasing demand for data services. During the quarter, 30 2G and 89 3G sites were rolled out. Local currency ARPU declined by 3,2%.
