MTN
Nigeria has made a first payment of N30bn to the Nigerian Communications
Commission in respect of the fine imposed on the mobile operator.
The
Chief Executive Officer, MTN Nigeria, Ferdi Moolman, stated this on Wednesday.
He
said, “I am pleased to announce that the first payment of N30bn in the terms of
settlement has already been disbursed to the NCC.
“In
addition to the earlier payment of N50bn, which we paid in good faith and
without prejudice on February 24, this means we have now paid a total of
N80bn.”
The
commission had on October 20, 2015 imposed a fine of N1.04tn on MTN for failing
to disconnect 5.1 million improperly registered lines within a prescribed
deadline.
After
nearly eight months of negotiation and re-negotiation between MTN and the
Federal Government on the sanction, the fine was on June 10, 2016 reduced to
N330bn.
In
a related development, the telecoms firm has said it has complied with all the
requirements for the 2.6GHz spectrum.
Moolman
said, “And after making the licence payment of N18.96bn for the 2.6GHz to the
NCC, MTN has been issued a letter of award. With the 2.6 GHz band, we expect to
roll out and provide the full range of Long-Term Evolution services to
Nigerians, empowering Nigeria with the latest mobile broadband technology.”
“This
licence acquisition further demonstrates MTN’s abiding faith in the future of
Nigeria and the resilience of the Nigerian economy. MTN continues to believe in
Nigeria and we have expressed this belief in the level of our investment, which
currently stands at approximately $15bn and counting.
“We
strongly believe that there is a need for significant levels of investment in
broadband infrastructure and services to truly launch Nigeria into the
information age. We are honoured to be the arrowhead.”
Tags
Business