The Nigerian Communications Commission(NCC) has approved the acquisition of 800-megahertz Visafone spectrum by MTN Group following lengthy battle with the industry regulatory agency in 2015.
The President of the Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria, Olusola Teniola, said the decision would enable the telecom company to extend the reach of its network in Nigeria, potentially to rural and unconnected areas.
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Teniola stated that “MTN is a dominant player in the voice segment and obviously they would like to ensure that they hold a leadership position in the data space,”
“Any operator that has the kind of spectrum that MTN holds is in a good position to lead the market,” he added.
Other telecom operators in the country had opposed the transfer of operating licence and resources, including 800MHz spectrum, from Visafone Communication Limited to MTN Nigeria at a public hearing organised by NCC in 2018.
They argued that the spectrum would create room for wider dominance of the market by MTN, and monopoly of the market.
MTN bought Visafone from the former Chief Executive Officer of Zenith Bank Plc, Jim Ovia.
