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Benin: Government suspends two mobile operators Print E-mail
Monday, 09 July 2007
The government of Benin has suspended two of the country’s four mobile operators and is threatening to shut off their networks on July 12 if they do not sign new contracts that include a 500% license fee increase.

Benin's Telecommunications Regulation Authority issued a statement suspending the operating contracts of MTN and Atlantique Telecom's Moov service effective July 9, saying both companies had changed their names without its permission. Both networks are allowed to continue offering service until July 12, when they must cease operating unless they sign new contracts, the regulator said.

The regulator believes new licenses are necessary since MTN renamed the Areeba network under its MTN brand, and Atlantique Telecom, controlled by Emirates Telecommunications Corp. (Etisalat), relaunched service under the Moov brand. The new licenses include an increase in the one-time license fee, which the regulator plans to impose on all four mobile operators. The regulator, created by the government of President Thomas Boni Yayi who was elected in 2006, said in May it planned to increase the operator fee to US$ 61.8 million from US$ 12.4 million under the existing contracts. The increase is retroactive, meaning each company would pay an additional US$ 51.5 million to the state, although no deadline for payment has been set.

Benin's two other mobile operators are locally-owned Bell Benin, and Libercom, a subsidiary of state-owned fixed-line provider Benin Telecom.

Source: Reuters - WDR/Intelecon Regulatory News.