The Federal Government through the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has renewed the operating license of MTN Nigeria Communications Plc for over N71.9 billion for its Unified Access Service (UAS) license and Spectrum license for wireless local loop in the 900MHz and 1800MHZ band.
According to the company, the licenses, which expired on August 31, 2021, have now been renewed for a further ten-year period, starting on September 1, 2021. The regulator (NCC) acknowledged the receipt of the sum of N71.6 billion for the spectrum licence, and N374.6 million for the UAS licence in settlement of their invoices for the period 1st of September 2021 to 31 August, 2031.
The spectrum underpins MTN’s data network and telecom coverage in Africa’s biggest economy.Speaking on the development, the CEO of MTN Nigeria, Karl Toriola said: ‘’Renewing our licences for another ten years is very important to our business and enables us to continue to provide services to ensure the benefits of a modern connected life for our prople. MTN Nigeria is delighted with its strong partnership with the NCC and looks forward to working closely with the Commission, and the Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy, to accelerate the growth of Nigeria’s digital economy.
The NCC had earlier in August denied renewing the operating licence of MTN Nigeria. While it admitted that the telecommunications giant had applied for a renewal of its licence. It stated that the application is still undergoing required regulatory processes as at the time.