MTN Uganda has reached a deal with the Ugandan government for the renewal of its license which expired since October 2018. The operator agreed to pay $100 million and float 20% of its capital on the local stock exchange.

The investment will be paid in two installments of $50 million. The first was expected on 15 March 2020, and the second in April 2020. “It is true that MTN agreed to pay the $100 million in return for a license of 14 years. As a government, we had wanted to give them 10 years but they explained that they have to invest in infrastructure upgrades and that their investment plan will see them injecting an extra $260 million over the period so we agreed on 14 years,” the Minister for ICT Peter Ogwang (pictured) said on March 13.

The license applied for by MTN, under the new regime adopted by the Government, is a national telecommunications operator's license which normally runs for 15 years. Through this resource, the company will be required to guarantee telecom coverage of 100% of the national territory.