This move by the company is seen as part of the plans to
help boost its 4G coverage and provide home broadband which will be part of a
rural connectivity programme.
This disclosure was made by the Chief Executive Officer of
MTN Nigeria, Karl Toriola, while on a conference call with analysts and
journalists for the telecom firm’s half-year, 2021, according to Reuters.
The Managing Director of MTN Nigeria, Karl Toriola in his
statement said, “Operationally, our mobile subscribers closed first half of the
year at 68.9 million, down 9.9% from December 2020. This was due to the
regulatory restrictions on new SIM sales and activations, which was lifted on
19 April 2021.’’
He said that MTN plans to take advantage of the road
infrastructure tax credit scheme, an initiative by the Federal Government, to
rehabilitate a highway in the southern part of the country to lower its tax
exposure.
MTN Nigeria had said that it plans to connect around 1,000
rural communities to its network in 2021 and extra 2,000 communities next year.
MTN Nigeria had earlier in March said that it was an
advanced stage in the renewal of its operating spectrum and licence in Nigeria
for another period of 10 years with effect from September.
The spectrum underpins MTN’s data network and telecom
coverage in Nigeria, Africa’s biggest economy.
The Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications
Communication (NCC), Prof. Umar Danbatta, had earlier said that Nigeria expects
to start auctioning spectrum for the next generation 5G network by the fourth
quarter of this year.
MTN had earlier said that its planned investment would also
support MTN Group’s strategy, Ambition 2025 and leading digital solutions for
Africa’s progress.
MTN had earlier insisted on its support for Nigeria’s plans
to secure 90% broadband population coverage by 2025, adding that its plan to
sell down 14% of MTN Nigeria to Nigerian investors were at an advanced stage
and would happen as soon as conditions were conducive.
MTN Nigeria, the largest network by market share, said it
lost 7.6 million mobile subscribers in the first half of 2021, especially due
to the Federal Government’s suspension of new SIM registration.
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