South African telecommunications company MTN has won a longstanding $4 billion lawsuit brought against it by Turkish telecommunications group, Turkcell.
Background To The MTN Lawsuit Case
In 2005, MTN won the license for a 49% stake in operating Iran’s first private cell phone network. Afterward, Turkcell, that was also pursuing the same course filed a lawsuit against the company. It accused it of paying bribes for the license.
The Istanbul-based telco has for over ten years alleged MTN is engaging in illicit activity to gain its GSM license in Iran. This is a claim that MTN has repeatedly denied.
According to court documents and additional reporting by MyBroadband, Turkcell claimed that MTN ”bribed officials”. It also claimed MTN “arranged meetings for Iran with South African leaders, and promised Iran weapons and United Nations votes in exchange for a stake in Irancell”.
Reaction To The Judgement
The case finally seems to have reached its conclusion after a judgment was handed down by the High court of South Africa on November 30, 2022. The case was dismissed without its costs.
MTN stated that it is delighted at the outcome as it has consistently maintained that the Turkcell litigation was without merit.
In early November, MTN sold its Afghanistan business for $35 million. This means the end of its presence in the Middle East region after 15 years.
The telco company also stated that it wants to focus on its African operations as part of its efforts to simplify its structure. It is also to reduce exposure in riskier markets.
Coming Down To Nigeria Space
Furthermore, data is on the verge to take over voice revenue from Airtel and MTN. Both telcos companies have generated a combined N739 billion in revenues between June and September 2022.
The combined revenues represent a 19.9% growth from the N615.9 billion reported same period in 2021. Data from the Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC) suggest that Nigerians recorded 175 billion minutes in outgoing calls. It also recorded 86 billion incoming calls in 2021.
Hence, why it is a network for everyone.
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