The Benin telecommunications industry regulatory authority for electronic communications and post (ARCEP) has withdrawn the license of the Nigerian mobile operator Globacom’s subsidiary after a conflict occurred regarding the renewal conditions. The regulatory authority took this decision after the Nigerian operator refused to accept the conditions proposed by the government.
Holding a mobile license in Benin since 2007, Glo Mobile Benin, a subsidiary of Globacom, had a market share of 11,7% in 2016 with more than one million active subscribers, according to the regulatory authority, following Spacetel Benin with 45,6% and 4 million subscribers and Moov with 41,9% and 3,7 million subscribers.
“The non-renewal of the license does not result from a sanction, but from the lack of agreement between Glo Mobile Benin and the State of Benin on the price of the license,” ARCEP-Benin said. The license’s contractual terms states that all parties had agreed that before renewal, new conditions might apply.
In July 2017, Globacom-Benin had opened talks with ARCEP to increase its control of the market share to 25 per cent to in an attempt to face the dominance of MTN and Etisalat in the Beninese telecoms market and be able to compete with Spacetel and Moov.
