By Dipo Olowookere
One of the leading telecommunications service providers in Africa, Airtel Africa Plc, has acquired an additional spectrum to support its 4G expansion in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
The central African country is the second largest market of the telco and mobile money provider, with Nigeria as its first. However, the country is the company’s largest country of operation by land size.
In a statement issued on Monday, Airtel Africa disclosed that the extra 58 MHz spectrum, spread across 900, 1800, 2100 and 2600 MHz bands, was purchased for $42 million.
“The licence for paired spectrum in the 2100 band comes up for renewal in September 2032. All the other licences continue until July 2036,” a part of the notice said.
It further disclosed that, “This additional spectrum will support our 4G expansion in the market for both mobile data and fixed wireless home broadband capability, providing significant capacity to accommodate our continued strong data growth in the country.”
Airtel Africa explained that “this investment reflects our continued confidence in the tremendous opportunity inherent in the DRC, supporting the local communities and economies through furthering digital inclusion and connectivity.”
Airtel Africa operates in 14 countries across Africa and in Nigeria, it is in fierce competition with MTN Nigeria for a share of the market space.
