NCC reveals status of MTN’s operating licence renewal request
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has revealed that MTN’s Unified Access Service Licence is still being processed for renewal.
The Commission stated this is a statement today as it clarified a purported earlier online report claiming that the operating licence of the Mobile Number Operator (MNO) has been renewed for another period of 20 years.
The statement read: “The attention of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has been drawn to a publication in an online media entitled “Govt renews MTN Nigeria licence amid 20 years of GSM Phones” to the effect that the mobile operating licence of MTN has been renewed by the Commission for another period of 10 years.
“The online publication, which cited regulatory filings by the NCC as its source, stated that “MTN Nigeria, the nation’s largest mobile network operator (MNO), has secured regulatory approval of the renewal of its operating licence for another 10 years with effect from September 1, 2021.”
In the statement signed by Ikechukwu Adinde, the Director of Public Affairs of NCC, made available to Business Metrics, the commission stressed that although MTN has applied for the licence renewal, the application is yet to be approved.
“The Commission wishes to state that, while MTN Nigeria has applied for the renewal of the Unified Access Service Licence ((UASL) granted to it by the Commission, the application is yet to be approved as it is still undergoing required regulatory processes,” the statement read.
