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.”
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