MTN Group Limited has alleged that the Nigerian
Communications Commission (NCC) has lifted a suspension on services to the
mobile phone company, an indication that relations between the two sides are
thawing as they negotiate the payment of a record $3.9 billion fine.
NCC “has lifted the suspension on regulatory
services to MTN Nigeria,” the Johannesburg-based company said in a statement
yesterday.
The move, according to Bloomberg, allows Africa’s
biggest wireless operator to seek approvals for promotions and other plans to
grow in the company’s biggest market, MTN said.
The NCC suspended services to MTN in October for a
failure to meet phone-service quality standards.
That same month, the regulator imposed a $5.2
billion fine, later reduced to $3.9 billion, for missing a deadline to
disconnect subscribers who weren’t properly registered in the country.
The lifting of the regulatory sanction may signal
progress on the standoff between MTN and the government, according to a lawyer
following the case.
“This is essentially another move in the tit-for-tat
negotiation process,” Dominic Cull, a regulatory lawyer at Cape Town-based
Ellipsis Regulatory Solutions, said.
“Lifting the regulatory hurdle is a positive step,
and means a resolution to the fine might be around the corner,” he added.
MTN has offered to pay about $1.5 billion, made up
of cash, bond purchases and access to its network.
The shares declined 4.1 per cent to 139.06 rand at
the close in Johannesburg, valuing the company at 257 billion rand ($16
billion).
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