Nigeria: Etisalat locks horns with MTN over Visafone buy

Etisalat has raised objections to MTN’s recently-concluded purchase of Visafone Nigeria and has called on the regulator ,the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), to reverse its approval of the deal.

According to a report in The Guardian, Etisalat’s Public Relations Regulatory and Corporate Affairs Division Officer, Chinesie Amanfo, said: “The legal action is considered necessary to prevent the use of Visafone’s 800MHz spectrum by MTN at this time, as it will entrench the dominance of MTN in the retail data services market.

“You will recall that MTN Nigeria was declared dominant by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) in 2013 and remains dominant in the wholesale leased line and retail voice markets.
“The use of the 800MHz spectrum to deploy broadband services ahead of its competitors, particularly those who, prior to MTNs purchase of Visafone, held similar spectrum bands as MTN, will further entrench MTN’s dominance in the Nigerian telecommunications sector.

“We have in addition and in line with Section 86 of the Nigerian Communications Act, 2003 engaged the NCC to understand the basis of its decision to approve the acquisition. As you are aware, the matter is already in court, as such, we are restrained from commenting further on the matter.”

With just over 2 million subscribers, Visafone is the largest CDMA operator in Nigeria.

Staff writer