MTN Group has announced its plans to sell its 20% stake in Belgacom International Carrier Services SA (BICS) to Proximus NV/SA for approximately R1,8 billion. The telco is expected to use this to pay down US dollar debt.
BICS was classified as a non-current asset held for sale and this transaction has resulted in a remeasurement of its carrying value resulting in a reduction of R397 million for the year ended 31 December 2020.
According to MTN, it will record a profit on disposal amounting to approximately R1,2 billion during the first half of 2021.
The closing of the sale is dependent on customary regulatory approval.
MTN Launches Supersonic AirFibre in South Africa
MTN has launched its Supersonic AirFibre offering in South Africa. The product is said to overcome distance and a lack of infrastructure in urban, township and rural communities to bring fibre-quality connectivity to more households across the country.
Supersonic AirFibre is expected to bring high-speed, inexpensive, and uncapped connectivity solutions to areas in which traditional fibre installations are not available. Built on unlicensed spectrum, the solution was designed, built and is maintained by MTN’s technology team to deliver a network quality that is in line with MTN’s standards, at affordable rates.
Supersonic AirFibre will be made available in areas where customers register their demand for the offering. Launch costs of Supersonic AirFibre are:
- R399 for 5Mbps uncapped
- R499 for 10Mbps uncapped
- R599 for 20Mbps uncapped
- R799 for 50Mbps uncapped
- R999 for 100Mbps uncapped