Bharti Airtel?s Niger-based subsidiary, Celtel, has been granted a licence to offer 3G services by Niger?s telecom regulator, Autorite de Regulation Multisectorielle (ARM). The operator has paid 34 billion CFA franc for the licence, which will be valid for 15 years, starting from Dec 7, 2014.
The operator intends to soon launch the commercial services in Niger. Under the licence, the operator to provide high speed mobile internet, video-telephony and music downloads.
Airtel now has 3G licences in all 17 African countries and offers 3G services in 15 countries currently, with Niger and Chad to follow. The company is also investing to help the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to benefit from the advancing telecom services.
