Mobile Telephone providers operating in the country such as MTN Nigeria, Airtel and Globacom Limited will have their operating licenses expire within the next 2 years, data seen by MoneyCentral shows.
Globacom which has a 20-year National carrier license issued on the 1st of September 2002 will see it expire on 31st August 2022.
MTN Nigeria has a 15-year Unified Access Service License (UASL) that expires next year, on 31-August 2021, while Airtel’s 15-year UASL issued in 2006, will expire on 30-November 2021.
The license renewal events are often a source of tension between Telecoms regulators and operators in Africa, and may bring some uncertainty to shareholders.
MTN Nigeria closed trading at N118.5 per share Tuesday on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE). It is the biggest listed company in Nigeria with a market capitalization of N2.4 trillion ($6 billion).
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) approved the renewal and extension of MTNs license for five years in 2015.
MTN’s operating spectrum, which was issued along with the digital-mobile license in 2001 had an original expiry date of February 2016.
MTN paid $94.2 million to secure the license for the 900MHz and 1800MHz frequency bands and the extension.
In Uganda MTN Group is required to list at least 20 percent of its shares on the local stock exchange within two years, and pay $100 million for a fresh license, according to the regulator, Uganda Communications Commission spokesman Ibrahim Bbossa.
Local ownership in MTN Uganda Ltd. is about 4 percent.