The acquisition will give Etisalat Nigeria immediate access to and full use of a 3G license in line with GSM operators in the West African nation.
Steven Evans, CEO of Etisalat Nigeria, said at the weekend that his telecoms company was delighted to acquire the 3G license, which is an essential element of its plans for the future.
He expressed strong optimism that with the acquisition of 3G, the company could further develop its data and mobile broadband portfolio in order to offer its customers even higher levels of service.
“There is pent-up demand in Nigeria for broadband and we intend to be leaders in satisfying it,” said Evans
Earlier, Boye Olusanya, managing director of Alheri Mobile and head of Dangote’s telecommunications arm, stated that “it makes sense for us to sell Alheri Mobile to Etisalat Nigeria as we believe that the market here can only sustain four mobile operators in the medium to long term”.
Olusanya further stated that Dangote Group would use the capital raised to develop its other assets in the telecommunications market.-
SIMEON OGOEGBULEM in Abuja, Nigeria
