MTN, Orange pay 75 bn each for licence renewal

MINPOSTEL Boss, Finance Minster and MTN CEO

By Njodzefe Nestor with Agency reports
MTN Cameroon and Orange Cameroon have paid a whopping FCFA 75 billion each to the Cameroon government for the renewal of their licences and have been allowed to start offering third and fourth generation (3G and 4G) services. The revelation concerning MTN’s deal was made Wednesday, March 11, 2015 by MTN Cameroon's CEO, Karl Toriola.
    The licence renewed for 15 years until Feb. 2030, allows the two leading mobile telephony companies to deploy optical fibre cables.
    According Karl Toriola, MTN Cameroon's CEO, the group would aim to improve Cameroon's telecommunications sector.

    MTN and its rival Orange, a subsidiary of France's Orange - have been in negotiations with the government over the renewal of their licences and clearance to offer 3G and 4G services which could increase internet penetration and data usage, buoying their revenues.
    South Africa's MTN, Cameroon's leading mobile provider with nearly 10 million subscribers or about 60 percent of the market plans to invest 4,400 billion CFA francs during the course of the licence period to improve its network.
    Its 3G and 4G network will be available in 16 towns in Cameroon by the first year of operation and will cover at least 75 percent of the population by 2018.
    Cameroon's third mobile operator Nexttel, owned by Vietnamese Viettel Group, received approval to offer 3G services when it launched last year.
    The approval of 3G services could boost Internet penetration in Central Africa's biggest economy and spur growth in the online business sector. Just 6 percent of Cameroon's population has internet access, among the lowest in Africa, despite having more than 16 million mobile phone subscribers.