According to ict4africa.net, Cote d’Ivoire’s telecom regulatory agency (ARTCI) requested that MTN stops exploiting 2.6 GHz frequency latest by March 21, 2016, midnight. The mobile telephony operator uses the frequency which it acquired in 2008 from Internet Services Provider, AFNET, and phone services provider, Arobase Telecom, for its Wimax and Wifi services. Concerned with market equity and frequencies scarcity, the regulator intends to share the resource equally between Orange, MTN, Moov and a fourth operator who is waiting to get licence.

The 2.6 Ghz frequency currently has 60 telecom channels. Each operator will thus receive 15 channels. For MTN’s Wimax users, reducing the number of channels means internet experience will be impaired. In a statement cited by ict4africa.net, MTN said it has found alternatives which it deployed since March 7, 2016, to insure that there is no quality loss

MTN is supposedly transfering its Wimax users to the 800 Mhz frequency which it plans to use for its 4G licence. Ict4africa.net says the Wimax market generates about FCFA4 billion with 200,000 users.