N330bn fine: MTN makes first installment payment of N30bn
The MTN Nigeria yesterday announced the first installment payment of N30bn to the Federal Government, complying with the terms of settlement agreed upon by both parties early this month.
The company also confirmed that the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has issued the 2.6GHz license to it for a ten-year period after paying N18.96 billion to the regulator.
This is in addition to the earlier payment of N50 billion which had been made by the telco in good faith, and this brings total fine paid so far by the company to N80 billion out of N330bn fine. It has up to 2019 to pay the remaining N250bn, according to the agreement with the government.
The N1.4 trillion fine slammed on the telco in October for regulatory infraction was cut down to N330bn by the Federal Government on June 10.
“I am pleased to announce that the first payment of N30 billion in the terms of settlement has already been disbursed to the NCC. In addition to the earlier payment of N50 billion which we paid in good faith”, the MTN Nigeria CEO Ferdi Moolman said in a statement yesterday.
Responding to the license issuance to the company by NCC yesterday, the MTN Nigeria CEO Ferdi Moolman stated: “After complying with all the requirements for the 2.6GHz auction and making the licence payment of N18.96 billion 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 LTE services to Nigerians, empowering Nigeria with the latest mobile broadband technology.”
The NCC had earlier declared MTN as winner of the auction for the 2.6GHz band, which guarantees superior performance for wireless networks, especially 4G LTE services.
It said the MTN’s bid was in full compliance with the relevant provisions of the Information Memorandum (IM) for the exercise in which MTN emerged as sole approved bidder.
The NCC has described this spectrum as a significant trigger for a broadband revolution that will unlock benefits such as greater coverage, access, affordability and innovation, with the customer at the centre of these gains.
According to MTN’s Ferdi Moolman, “We are very pleased with this development at this time, which is a further step in the right direction for Nigeria. Indeed, MTN is fully aligned and supports the NCC’s objective to deliver broadband services to present and future generations of subscribers, in line with the National Broadband Plan of 2013.
“In addition, we are also delighted that the matter of the fine imposed by the NCC was amicably settled in the interest of all parties. I am pleased to announce that the first payment of N30 billion in the terms of settlement has already been disbursed to the NCC. In addition to the earlier payment of N50 billion which we paid in good faith and without prejudice on February 24, this means we have now paid a total of N80 billion.”