Telecom company Airtel Africa has announced its intention to acquire additional spectrum in Nigeria to expand and strengthen its LTE services across the country
It has announced an agreement between Airtel Networks Limited (Airtel Nigeria), a subsidiary of Airtel Africa, and Intercellular Nigeria Limited, to acquire additional 10 MHz spectrum in the 900 MHZ band in Nigeria for a consideration of US$70mn, excluding NCC Fees as per the NCC Spectrum Trading Guidelines.
The acquisition is subject to regulatory approval by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), the telecom company stated.
Nigeria is Airtel Africa’s largest market. In the six months’ period ended 30 September 2019, Airtel Nigeria’s revenue increased by 23 per cent, with data growth being the largest contributor.
Raghunath Mandava, CEO of Airtel Africa, commented, “Data is a key pillar of our growth strategy, driven by increasing 4G networks and supported by the increased affordability and increasing penetration of smartphones.”
“With an overall smartphone penetration of more than 35 per cent and data consumption growing by 92 per cent in the six months’ period ended 30 September 2019, Nigeria presents a significant growth opportunity in data. The acquisition of this spectrum will enable us to further deliver on this growth opportunity and continue to offer our Nigerian customers enhanced user experience,” he added.
