MTN secures Uganda licence renewal

September 18, 2018 in Business, Companies by Editor

September 18, 2018- The Cabinet has nodded to a ten-year extension of MTN Uganda’s telecom operators’ licence, nearly a year to the day the telco applied for its renewal.

Speaking to the media today, Minister for ICT Frank Tumwebaze said the cabinet had during its sitting on Monday approved the renewal subject to the company committing itself to list its stock on the Uganda securities exchange.

Tumwebaze said he had been authorised to give sector regulator Uganda Communications Commission a ‘no objection’ to the renewal of MTN’s licence.

The announcement was welcomed by MTN Uganda board chair Charles Mbire who said the decision was an endorsement of the telco’s contribution to the development of Uganda’s telecommunications sector.

“We welcome the government of Uganda’s decision which in a sense is a recognition of MTN’s efforts to develop telecommunications in Uganda over the past 20 years. With the licence renewal out of the way, we can now focus on implementing our plans for the next ten years,” Mbire said during a brief interview with 256BN.

MTN entered the Ugandan market as the second national operator in October 1998, with condition to activate atleast 60,000 mobile phone subscriptions over five years, a target it surpassed in just one year. It has since risen to the top with 54 percent of the market today.

Besides investment in next generation technologies, officials said the company would also embark on construction of a 10 storey corporate headquarters in Kampala.

“Many aspects of our capex had been put on hold pending the licence renewal. With that issue now out of the way, we can focus on where we want to take the business over the next decade,” Mbire added.