Airtel Kenya has paid KSh1.13 billion to the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) for a network license.
The payment will see the telco offer additional data services to customers without increasing bundle charges.
The CA says it has now given the operator a non-contiguous 2×10 MHz block of spectrum in the 2100 MHz for $10 million valid for 10 years.
Airtel says that it will also clear the KSh2.2 billion bill for its current license it has been using since 2015. The telco’s operating license expired back in 2015. Since then, the CA has been trying to compel Airtel to pay the said amount following the said expiry.
Airtel Kenya has since admitted it will pay the funds in instalments, with payment set to be completed over the next three years.
Airtel only had two options to settle its issue with the CA: sell 30% of its stake to locals, or pay the KSh2.2 billion.
Airtel Kenya has been operating on a licence acquired from yuMobile when it bought it in 2014. The telco argues that the Communication Authority had agreed to merge its operating licences with those it purchased from Yu Mobile in 2014 for the KSh795 million it paid to acquire the firm. The YuMobile licence will expire on January 27, 2025.
However, the telco claims that upon its purchase of YuMobile spectrum and frequencies, the Authority changed its earlier position and demanded an additional KSh2.15 billion as a condition for renewing its operating permits.
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