Airtel Africa Pays £140m to Renew Nigeria Licences

Airtel Africa has paid £140m to renew spectrum licences in Nigeria for 10 years, underpinning the company's business in its biggest market.

Airtel Africa, a leading provider of telecommunications and mobile money services, with a presence in 14 countries across Africa, said the Nigerian Communications Commission had accepted its application to renew the 900MHz and 1800MHz bands for its subsidiary Airtel Nigeria. The licences were due to expire in November.

After the application the regulator offered Airtel the chance to renew the licences until 30 November 2031, which the company accepted. Airtel Nigeria has paid 71.61bn naira (£140m or $189m) to renew the licences in Africa’s most populous country and biggest economy.

Raghunath Mandava, Airtel Africa’s chief executive, said: “This is our largest market and we remain focused on bridging the digital divide and expanding our broadband capability in the country. I would like to thank both the government of Nigeria and the NCC for their cooperation and support in this important process."

Shares of the company, which operates across 14 countries in Africa, fell 5% to 76p at 09:09 GMT.

January 28, 2021