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Benin’s telecommunications regulator suspended the networks of two of its four mobile operators on Thursday, cutting off almost 1 million subscribers in a contract dispute.
The regulator silenced the networks of MTN and Atlantique Telecom, which is controlled by Emirates Telecommunications Corp. (Etisalat). The regulator, the Transitional Post & Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (ATRPT) declared null and void the name changes from Telecel to Moov and from Areeba to MTN.
"It appears, following a study of the dossiers supplied by the two operators, that this is indeed a substitution of the operator, and not a change of trading name as claimed by Telecel Benin SA and Spacetel Benin SA," ATRPT said in a statement.
The regulator had suspended the companies' licenses on Monday and threatened to shut down their networks if they did not sign new contracts including a $50 million, 500% increase in the license fee by Thursday evening. The regulator says the new contracts are needed because both networks had changed their names and operators without its permission.
MTN said it was committed to continued engagement with the authorities in Benin to find an amicable resolution to the current regulatory uncertainty. MTN, whose Benin network was previously operated by Spacetel Benin under the Areeba brand, had 514,000 subscribers in Benin in March. Atlantique Telecom's Moov network, previously part of the Telecel group, has around 450,000. Benin has approximately 8 million people.
The regulator said one operator, Libercom, a subsidiary of state-owned fixed-line provider Benin Telecom, had undertaken to pay the new license fee, and the other operator, Bell Benin, would do so soon. Source: Reuters - WDR/Intelecon Regulatory News.
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