UPDATE 2-Cameroon renews MTN mobile licence for 15 years, approves 3G and 4G
* MTN agreed to pay $125 mln for renewal, 3G/4G licence
* MTN to invest over $7 bln on its network over 15 years
* Orange expected to sign similar deal on Thursday
(Adds quotes, details from ceremony, Orange deal)
By Sylvain Andzongo
YAOUNDE, March 11 (Reuters) - Cameroon has renewed the operating licence of Africa's largest telecoms provider MTN and allowed the firm to start offering third and fourth generation (3G and 4G) services in the Central African country, MTN said on Wednesday.
MTN's rival in Cameroon, Orange, was expected to sign a similar deal on Thursday. The approval of 3G and 4G services could boost internet penetration in Central Africa's biggest economy and spur growth in the online business sector.
South Africa's MTN, Cameroon's leading mobile provider with nearly 10 million subscribers or about 60 percent of the market, said it paid 75 billion CFA Francs ($125 million) for the licence.
The licence was renewed for 15 years until Feb. 2030, MTN said in a statement.
After handing a cheque to the government, Karl Toriola, MTN Cameroon's chief executive, said the group would aim to improve the country's telecommunications sector.
MTN said it plans to invest 4,400 billion CFA francs ($7.36 billion) during the licence period to improve its network, and that its 3G and 4G network will be available in 16 towns by the first year and will cover at least 75 percent of the population by 2018.
Just 6 percent of Cameroon's population has internet access, among the lowest in Africa, despite having more than 16 million mobile phone subscribers. MTN said the new services could help increase internet penetration to more than 20 percent.
The faster 3G and 4G services will enable better voice communication, high speed internet, video, gaming and other data services, seen as revenue growth areas in the mobile sector as revenues from voice dwindles.
MTN and Orange in Cameroon, a subsidiary of France's Orange , have been in negotiations with the government over the renewal of their licences and clearance to offer 3G and 4G services.
Cameroon's Post and Telecommunications Minister Jean-Pierre Biyiti bi Essam told Reuters that Orange was expected to sign a deal with the government on Thursday, but declined to give further details.
An Orange official who requested anonymity, told Reuters that their terms will be similar to MTN's.
Cameroon's third mobile operator Nexttel, owned by Vietnam's Viettel Group, a state-owned mobile network operator wholly owned by the Ministry of Defence, received approval to offer 3G services when it launched last year.
(Additional reporting and writing by Bate Felix; Editing by Susan Thomas)
2015-03-11 18:05:32+00:00 GMT+00:00 (Reuters)