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Etisalat Nigeria has dragged MTN Nigeria and Visafone Limited, to court to challenge MTN’s use of the 800MHZ spectrum following the acquisition of Visafone.
A statement by Etisalat said the legal action “is considered necessary to prevent the use of the spectrum by MTN at this time, as it will entrench the dominance of MTN in the retail data services market.”
Etisalat Nigeria says it believes that the use of the 800MHz spectrum to deploy broadband services ahead of its competitors, particularly those who prior to MTN’s purchase of Visafone, held similar spectrum bands as MTN, will further entrench MTN’s dominance in the Nigerian telecoms sector.
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) had in 2013 declared MTN dominant in the wholesale leased line and retail voice markets.
Etisalat’s statement further reads:
“We have in addition and in line with Section 86 of the Nigerian Communications Act, 2003 engaged the NCC to understand the basis of its decision to approve the acquisition,” the statement read.