The Chairman, ALTON, Gbenga Adebayo, had disclosed at the NCC’s 2021 board and management retreat in November that one of the problems plaguing the telecoms industry was a lack of seamless access to forex.
According to a source in MTN Nigeria, the company hopes to leverage its foreign investors to attract forex.
“When you look at our investors’ profile, you will find Americans and Europeans there, of course they pay us in foreign currencies. This helps in the flow of FX to us. The real question is how we get (repatriate funds) the money out. We try to do everything legally.”
However, the President of the Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria, Ikechukwu Nnamani, believes the rollout process for 5G will improve the forex situation of the nation.
According to the National Coordinator, Alliance for Affordable Internet, Olusola Teniola, MTN may rely on its recent Initial Public Offer to raise local money for its spectrum licence.
According to the commission’s ‘Information Memorandum on 3.5 GHz Spectrum Auction’, 5G services will be deployed in about 12 states between 2022 and 2023.
– Punch