South African cellular operator, MTN (Mobile Telephone Networks) has pre-qualified for a GSM mobile operator licence in Nigeria.
The announcement was made today by the Nigerian Communications Commission, who advised MTN that it has been one of the successful bidders to pre-qualify to tender for one of four licences. Each of the licences will allow the provision of a dual-band frequency mobile network (900 and 1800 MHz). There were 7 successful bidders who pre-qualified from an initial 17 submissions.
MTN`s pre-qualification is based on the company`s ability to fulfil the following licence requirements:
Install 300,000 lines within 24 months of being granted a licence;
Deploy at least 30,000 of the 300,000 lines to each of the six geo-political zones in Nigeria within 24 months of being granted a licence;
Deploy a minimum of 100,000 lines each year for the remaining exclusivity period of 36 months; and
To deploy 20% of the installed capacity to rural areas.
Ross Macdonald, Group Executive for International Business Development at MTN, believes that the Nigerian market will be very important to the company `s overall growth strategy. "We expect the Nigerian telecoms market to grow to around 5 million over the next ten years, it is natural for us to want to be part of this growth and we believe that we will add great value to both the country`s economy and the lives of its people. We are excited about the prospect of realising the start of a strong South African - Nigerian partnership which we believe will have considerable benefits to both our countries".
MTN is planning a capital investment of US$ 780 million in the Nigerian operation over the next ten years. This will ensure the deployment of a quality network that will enable the offering of tailored products and a wide range of value-added service to its customers. "We aim to expand the network to provide access to as wide a cross-section of the Nigerian population as possible," continues Macdonald.
The Nigerian Communications Commission aims to conclude the evaluation process and award the licences by the end of February 2000.
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