CELTEL INTERNATIONAL BV is set to commence full scale operations in the telecommunication industry by the first quarter of this year.
The company which has already paid $115 million as part of the transaction purse of Western Telesystems Limited (WESTEL) to government is preparing to enter the Ghanaian market latest before the first quarter of this year.
Celtel also intend to intensify the expansion of its network in Nigeria in 2008, increasing its capacity, growing its coverage and improving on its quality of service. Celtel International remains committed to the realisation of its parent company, Zain Group’s global expansion vision and aggressive subscriber growth in 2008, the company said recently.
Celtel Nigeria is expected to continue its massive investment in network expansion including its 400 kilometre optic fibre project with Nokia Siemens Network, other transmission capacity building projects, national network monitoring centre project, soft switches installation projects, mobile data capability building project with Motorola for a comprehensive network expansion in the Southern part of Nigeria, among others.
Celtel is one of the biggest players in Nigerian telecom industry and hopes to dominate the Ghanaian market within few years of commencing operation in the country.
The Ghanaian market is vital to Celtel which want to use it as a window to link up its other operations in the sub region. The Pan African mobile operator which currently has over 23 million subscribers operates in the West African states of Niger, Nigeria, Chad, Burkina Faso, and Sierra Leone. In all, the company operates currently in 15 countries.
Some market watchers believe Celtel stands a chance of gaining momentum in the industry if it introduces cheap and interesting products.
In late December 2007, Celtel paid part of the transaction fee for acquiring 75 percent shares in WESTEL to government covering Sales and Purchase Agreement (SPA).
Oboshie Sai-Cofie, Minister of Information and National Orientation, government said Celtel’s holding in WESTEL is however, expected to reduce to 70 percent within three years when it releases 5 percent of its shares in addition to those to be released and floated on the Ghana Stock Exchange, to benefit Ghanaians.
A subsidiary of Kuwaiti company, Zain (formerly named MTC), Celtel is one of the largest telecommunications company in Eastern and Southern Africa.
In a recent report, Celtel announced the introduction of ‘One Network’, the world’s first borderless mobile network to Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Chad, Malawi, Niger, and Sudan.
These countries were said to have joined the Republic of Congo, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda in the network which was initially launched in September 2006 and has been expanded due to increased demand.
The extension of this technological break-through according to the a Corporate Affairs release, now offered the possibility for nearly half of Africa’s population to make calls at local rates across 12 countries throughout the continent.
Meanwhile, Celtel is expected to retain the current management and workers of WESTEL when it begins operations.
