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(Alliance News) - Airtel Africa PLC on Monday said it has finalised its USD94 million spectrum acquisition after winning approval from the Nigerian Communications Commission.
Shares in Airtel were down 5.3% at 56.84 pence in London in morning trade.
Airtel, a telecommunications and mobile money services firm, has acquired 10 megahertz spectrum in the 900 megahertz band in Nigeria from Intercellular Nigeria Ltd.
The deal, announced November 2019, obtained NCC approval and is "in line with NCC Spectrum Trading Guidelines", according to Airtel.
The company said the additional spectrum will help reinforce its "leading 4G position" in Nigeria, both "increasing available capacity of the existing network and supporting the further roll-out of 4G network".
Moreover, it will let Airtel manage its capital expenditure on 4G more "efficiently" since most of its sites currently support activation of the additional spectrum.
The spectrum buy should also help Airtel expand its wireless broadband offering, improve the quality of voice calls, and make it more competitive in Nigeria.
In the nine months ended December 31, Airtel Nigeria experienced revenue growth of more than 23%, the company said, and data growth was the "largest contributor" to this. Data revenue in the nine months was up 75%.
Raghunath Mandava, Airtel's chief executive, said: "With increasing smartphone penetration, data usage and a young growing population, Nigeria represents a significant growth opportunity in data. This investment will not only strengthen our leading 4G position in mobile data but also allow us to expand our fixed wireless broadband offer to support the government agenda for faster broadband services with improved coverage and availability.
"At Airtel Africa, we are committed to further strengthen our spectrum portfolio when there is a clear growth opportunity and this investment demonstrates our commitment to invest, at the right price, to continue to drive our business forward."
By Anna Farley; annafarley@alliancenews.com
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