Liberia’s Lonestar MTN threatens action against regulator

Tension is growing within Liberia’s telecommunication sector after Lonestar Cell MTN threatened legal action against the Liberian Telecommunications Authority (LTA) for the second time this year. It comes as the regulator announced orders to suspend the company’s service from December 3-5.

This past May, the LTA also threatened to suspend the operator’s license for two weeks after it had cut off competitor Comium, saying it had failed to pay interconnection fees.

Lonestar then took the case to court in June, a move that appeared to have forced the LTA away from suspending its license. But now, the regulator has again said it will suspend Lonestar’s service, which has prompted further legal action.

Lonestar MTN said on Monday that it could take legal action against the regulator again if this organisation does not back down.

The Telecommunications Act of 2007, specifically Part XV, Section 75, Subsections 1 & 2, confirms the right of a licensee “to resort to arbitrate on in respect of any order by the LTA that gives rise to a dispute that is not resolved,” said Laurence Konmla Bropleh, corporate communications executive for Lonestar Cell MTN, in a statement.

David Eto