Monrovia – One of the worst-kept secrets in Liberian business circles appear to be gaining traction amid reports that the Government of Liberia is on the verge of entering into the already tight cellular phone market.

FrontPageAfrica has learned from multiple sources that the Liberia Telecommunications Corporation (Libtelco) has sealed a takeover deal with one of the struggling cellular phone companies in Liberia, Novafone.

Actual Amount Unclear

The deal, according to multiple sources is valued around US$30 million with the company reportedly to receive US$5 million up front, with the remaining balance expected to be paid to the company within a year. But Mr. Sebastian Muah, Managing Director of Libtelco when contacted by FrontPageAfrica said the amount being speculated is wrong.

According to Mr. Muah, the deal is actually valued at around US$10 million with US$7 million being paid to the struggling cellular company upfront and the balance US$3 million set to be paid at a later date.

The deal comes just weeks after the acquisition of another local cellular phone company, Cellcom Liberia by Orange Group via its Orange Cote d’Ivoire

FrontPageAfrica has learned that once the deal is sealed, the National Social Security and Welfare Corporation (NASSCORP) will replace Ecobank as guarantor.

Only US$500,000 in Taxes

According to knowledgeable sources close to the transaction, only US$500,000 will be paid as taxes to the government of Liberia.  The taxes will be based upon a principle in finance known as capital gains.  That is the tax you pay for selling an asset, and the actual amount is dependent on whether the gains are short or long term. 

In this case, long term capital gains taxes are due if the government can show that there has been an appreciation of the asset since Novafone purchased it four years ago.  Since the details of the transaction are secret, many wonder about the transparency and economic probity involved.

The financial valuation of Novafone is unclear, with challenges in determining the current market value based upon future cash flows or its maximum earnings potential.

In the technology industry, companies sell at many multiple of their current earnings, since the market position of the company is important.  But in a moribund economy such as Liberia, with Novafone only having a minute share of the market and with negative cash flows, it is troubling to some analysts that the Liberian government would purchase such an asset with guarantees from an SOE without much public debate or understanding.

The investment can be classified as highly speculative.  There is some upside, but clearly the downside is that Libtelco could lose all of its money in the transaction, which makes it troubling that a SOE like the National Social Security and Welfare Corporation, that has the fiduciary responsibility of holding money for Liberian current and future pensioners should be guaranteeing a highly speculative investment.

The broad financial implications for this deal are troubling besides using government guarantees from a state owned entity (SOE) to buy a private asset in a transaction that is not technically arms-length amid concerns that some hidden hands may stand to benefit from the deal with substantial equity in Novafone, or minimally a close business associate, Mr. George Abi Jaoudi is the principle shareholder.

Source: 4 Banks Guaranteeing Sale

The deal, according to sources is being financed by four local banks IB, LBDI, Ecobank and GT Bank which will be providing guarantee for the purchase.

Mr. Abi Jaoudi, one of the leading Lebanese businessmen in Liberia who is believed to be the major shareholder in Novafone, has reportedly been struggling for months now to offload the struggling company but has been unsuccessful in finding suitors.

Lonestarcell/MTN reportedly was at one point close to sealing a deal with Novafone but the deal reportedly fell through the cracks after Lonestar rejected the offer and said it was unwilling to pay an extra US$3million for the switch as part of the package.

FrontPageAfrica has learned that once the deal is completed, Libtelco will then offload 60 percent of the deal to Vodafone, a British multinational telecommunications company operating currently in 26 countries and has partner networks in over 50 additional countries.

Mr. Muah explained that the balance sheet of the company will remain as is and the liabilities and receivables on the balance sheet will be assumed as part of the deal which essentially would have been the same as an going concern if the company continued to operate as is.

LoneStar Bid Rejection Explained

But many industry analysts are wondering why the government and Libtelco are settling for less when Lonestar had a reported US$18 million on the table?

But Muah explained that the deal is straight-forward. “Our understanding of the Lonestar/MTN deal, the core network equipment was not part of the deal and Lonestar was willing to leave the modern core equipment, and again just buy Novafone out of competition for about $16-18 million dollars, ignoring loss of jobs and the network equipment valued at $9 million.  This would put the value of Novafone at worse case $25 million or ideal case $27 million.  We went for $24 million – million less than the worst case.”

According to Muah, the talks and negotiation on the acquisition was initiated since last October when news that its competitor Lonestar/MTN embarked on similar effort to buy Novafone out of the market and make the Liberian market a two-player market.

FrontPageAfrica has learned that one of the sticking points Novafone encountered in trying to sell is that Novafone insisted that whoever takes over the company pay upfront for the liabilities on their books and that they would go pay their debtors our proposition was leave the liabilities and we will only pay you the equity portion and continue to run the company.

Mr. Muah indicated that the Lonestar/MTN version of the transaction was sectorally contractionary.  “The transaction would have resulted immediately with a net loss of jobs, over 100 Liberians during these difficult times in our post-Ebola recovery process.”

He said additionally, nationally security was another issue, citing the situation when Lonestar/MTN shut down its network during a critical time during the 2011 elections. “We cannot entrust the security of the country into the hands of private actors seeking to maximize profit at all costs” he averred.

According to Mr. Muah, Libtelco negotiated to pay about US$10 million in cash and assume the liabilities and assets on the balance sheet, which added up to about $14 million.

He noted that some of the liabilities were due to the Government of Liberia in regulatory and other fees.  Even the cash payment was split in terms of payment 70% upfront and the remaining 30% paid over a 24-month period with a 6-month grace period.

“I am amazed at the level of political wrangling that is seeping in a purely commercial matter, such that a major competitor is resulting to mischievous tactics and rhetoric that looks like sour grapes.”

A source privy to the discussions surrounding the deal says by giving the new operators more capacity and bandwidth to meet the demands, it would also lead to the cutting of cost on expat management.

A Clean Deal in Play, says Muah

But Muah insists that the deal, still in negotiations, is clean. “This was a clean and fair deal. Lone star just lost in the commercial bid.  Our lawyers and accountants on this were Negbalee Warner and Baker Tilly. They did a very thorough work.”

Mr. Muah further outlined that the deal as structured provides for the best option to reposition Libtelco and bring value to the entity as such time the Government can divest at a profit to a genuine competitor, unlike a buyout leading to unemployment.

Mr. Muah highlighted that at no point in the transaction any compromise was made to short-change the Government or the People of Liberia.

“We did our homework, and while not all of what one does is perfect, I believe I put in place a team of competent Liberian experts to help me review and meet my objectives of going against a corporation, that has yet to show true value to Liberians, in an acquisition battle that they have lost.”

We enlisted Baker and Tilly to review the assets and liabilities, we enlisted Heritage Law Partners to conduct a full legal due diligence of the corporation and its owners.

Continued Muah: “We engaged the Government key decision makers on the Debt Management Committee and the Economic Management Team to make sure that our proposal made sense.

The question that lingered was sell Libtelco today for scrap about $15 million and pay some liabilities and the Government could net about $10 million; try to build an operating network to reach the scope of the smallest competition Novafone for about $35 million over a 2-year period, or negotiate and acquire an operational network.”

As the provider with the most capacity in the Cable Consortium Liberia (CCL) and not means of distribution that capacity, it became apparent that in the medium term we needed to find a means of distributing that capacity to generate revenue.

The fiber optic requires much more funds to build, deploy or operationalize.  The cost per user would be far more than what an average Liberian could afford with the current 52% poverty level.  So a broader network was required to offload and sell the abundant capacity that Libtelco owns in the ACE cable.

Libtelco Building Communities, Muah Says

Focusing on what he described as the task at hand, which includes expanding the sector and creating more and more opportunities for Liberians to assure the development of a knowledge economy, Mr. Muah said presently, Libtelco is building communities.

“For the first time in the last 10 years we will have a modern replacement for Sport Commission, we will have a modern library outfitted with computers and even a children reading corner, we will extend the playground concept already happening to communities outside of central Monrovia.”

“Today, go to WVS Tubman High School, we have been the only provider that through our Computer Lab for the Advancement of Science in Schools (CLASS) has a modern computer lab connected to the fiber optic, we have labs in Greenville and Grand Kru, labs are coming online at Gabriel Kpolleh, E. Jonathan Goodridge and Voker Mission.  

These are first small steps but critical steps in our recovery and development efforts.  Acquiring Novafone will now allow us to easily be present in 13 out of the 15 counties immediately and begin accelerating our CLASS program.”

Monopoly Over Fixed Lines

Prior to the passage of the Telecommunications Act of 2007, Libtelco possessed a legal monopoly over the country’s fixed line services, and today remains the sole company licensed by the Liberia Telecommunications Authority to provide fixed line telephone services

The Liberia Telecommunications Corporation (Libtelco) is a telecommunications company providing services in Liberia. Headquartered in Monrovia, the company provides telephone, internet, fax and radio services to the greater Monrovia area.

Prior to the passage of the Telecommunications Act of 2007, Libtelco possessed a legal monopoly over the country’s fixed line services, and today remains the sole company licensed by the LTA to provide fixed line telephone services

Libtelco was founded through the Liberian Telecommunications Corporation Act of 1973 to construct and operate the country’s fixed line communications infrastructure and to provide services to residents and businesses.

Originally, the corporation was also given exclusive policy setting and regulatory authority over all telecommunications in the country, though these powers were transferred to the newly created Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications in 1978.

The corporation ceased operations in 1990 following the outbreak of the First Liberian Civil War and the subsequent collapse of the national government.

The civil war resulted in much of the corporation’s infrastructure being destroyed. Following the end of the Second Liberia in 2003, the transitional government failed in its attempt to privatize Libtelco.

In 2006, President Sirleaf activated Libtelco, appointing a temporary Board of Directors while also ordering the creation of a new telecommunications policy for Liberia.

The subsequent Liberia Telecommunications Act of 2007 placed regulatory authority over Libtelco and the Liberian telecommunications industry with the newly created Liberia Telecommunications Authority, while also granting Libtelco the sole license for all fixed line telephone services in the country until 2011.

Pres. Sirleaf appointed a new board and management team to operate the company in 2007. The government has also stated its intention to privatize the company at some point in the future.

Libtelco owns a 20% interest in the Cable Consortium of Liberia, which owns and operates the cable landing of the ACE Cable system in Monrovia, was completed in 2012. The company is currently using its existing ownership over cable ducts in the Monrovia area to construct a fiber-optic communications network that will connect to the cable system.

Libtelco currently owns thirty communications towers around the country, which it both utilizes in its network and leases to Liberia’s four GSM mobile providers.

Liberia has predominantly been a two-company cellular market with giants Lonestarcell/MTN and Cellcom dominating the market shares.

Novafone in 2013 enter the fray with the purchase of Comium GSM, a global services mobile (GSM) company which also struggles to gain a footing on the tight but competitive market.

At the time, Novafone pledged to introduce a 4th Generation of mobile communications and promised to cover 85% of Liberia.

The company was cautioned at the time by Angelique Weeks, Managing Director of the Liberia Telecommunications Authority, who emphasized that the competition in the sector was high.

Rodney D. Sieh, rodney.sieh@frontpageafricaonline.com

For subscribers and cellular users, this means that the LTE, a first-generation technology, should theoretically reach improved speeds and offer better options for streaming and downloading.

Most regulators in Africa have issued 4G LTE licenses, while many are still in the process of assigning spectrum.

Cellcom Liberia, the mobile operator recently acquired by Orange Group via its Orange Cote d’Ivoire subsidiary, has now joined a growing list of operators to receive the coveted license and enhance the competition for being amongst the first to deploy the fastest mobile Internet speeds in Liberia.

As of early 2013, there were an estimated 300,000 activated LTE SIM cards on the continent, with 94% of those found in South Africa. By the end of 2016, there should be 11 million LTE subscriptions, up from 1.6 million in the first quarter of 2014.

Which Phones Are Compatible

In hopes of staying ahead of the curve, Cellcom, in the hours after its 4G+LTE launch, immediately began notifying its subscribers about the new and endless possibilities with faster internet for HD movies, videos, TV and streaming.

Subscribers were then asked to check if their smartphones were 4G+LTE ready by dialling *583# with a reply prompt immediately notifying them whether the phones were compatibility.

Most smart phones are compatible with the features of the 4G+LTE including: Amazon Fire phone, iPhone 5, 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, Blackberry Z10/Z30/Q10/Passport, HTC One M8 & M9, Motorola Nexus 6, LG G Flex 2 & G3, Huawei Honor 6, Galaxy Note 3 & 4, Galaxy Note Edge, Galaxy Note S4, S5 & S6, Sony Xperia Z2 & Z3

In launching its 4G+LTE, Cellcom is hoping that its Long-Term Evolution mobile standard will raise the bar and competition in a country with a little over five million cellular subscribers.

While the initial coverage is limited to Montserrado County, the company is already in the process of rolling out services to other counties in the coming months.

Avisha Marziano, Chief Executive Officer says the advent of LTE in Liberia would ensure that ’customers enjoy the latest high speed internet service’ in the country.

All this coming in the aftermath of the acquisition of Cellcom by Orange Group via its Cote d’Ivoire unit, following an agreement to acquire the Liberian subsidiary at the start of this year.

Cellcom currently serves around 1.4 million subscribers and its Orange linkup is expected to improve services for thousands of subscribers, a point Orange hit home following the announcement of the merger deal:

“Over the next few months, Liberian customers will benefit from the arrival of Orange, one of Africa’s leading players in the telecoms industry. Orange will provide its marketing expertise and world-class technical capability to further strengthen the operator’s established network and enhance customer service.’ Liberia has become the 20th market in Orange Group’s Africa and Middle East footprint.”

Trumpeted as the country’s first 4G network in Liberia, Cellcom prides itself of always pushing the competition envelop with being among the first to acquire the most advanced mobile Internet technology in the world, in hopes of doubling current Internet speeds, while allowing users to experience unprecedented uploads and download speeds.

Vice President Joseph Boakai, agrees. At the launch of the cutting edge technology recently, he marvelled. “Today, I’m proud to tell you that we are changing Liberia with technology.”

For Marziano, the new technology will help a large portion of the population. “We expect this new technology to affect education, the press, health, transportation, security and all aspects of Liberia,” he said.

Mr. Kimmie Weeks, the company’s Chief Corporate Communications Strategist explains that Liberia will now be ahead of many African nations, including South Africa. “With the introduction of this technology, Cellcom has essentially set Liberia ahead of the rest of Africa and on par with Europe and the United States in terms of mobile Internet speeds”.

Today, several countries across the continent are catching the 4G+LTE wave and the list is growing.

In Namibia, the MTC carrier began 4G LTE service in May 2012, claiming speeds 10x faster than before while its main competitor, TN Mobile offered a competing 4G LTE product in November 2013.

Angola’s Movicel took a top-down approach to its deployment of 4G LTE, claiming it is “building an elegant network” to expedite growth in Angola and has expanded to three provinces. Unitel, is main rival, has also been offering LTE since December 2012 and is testing LTE-Advanced as of early 2014.

While Multitel deployed 4G LTE in Luanda as of November 2015. In Tanzania, Smile Telecom is aiming to use 4G LTE to improve socioeconomic conditions in the country and in late 2015 rolled out VoLTE service. Tigo rolled out 4G technology in May 2013 and plans nationwide coverage by the end of 2016. Smart Telecom offers LTE.

TTCL launched 4G LTE in late 2015. Zantel is launching 4G for Zanzibar in early 2016. Vodacom in South Africa launched launched 4G in selected parts of Johannesburg in October 2012. While MTN, Cell C, Telkom (8ta), and Neotel also have 4G LTE offerings. Telkom has deployed LTE-A in select cities.

To date, at least forty-nine countries have one commercial 4G LTE network as a growing list of African mobile operators are launching LTE service in the largest markets. Impressively, 4G service can now be found in a bevy of African nations (28 of them and counting). Another handful should have commercial 4G LTE service within months.

The technological ability and the user demand for such services signal a step forward for African business. Nations with 4G service – even in part of a capital city – are heralded as globally-competitive economic players. At home, the promise of 4G fuels nationalism and hope for social change via technology.

All this means that Liberia, thanks to Cellcom, is on par with the competition, including its regional neighbours. For example, in Nigeria, Smile has LTE service in Ibadan since January 2013 in Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt and Benin City. Swift and Spectranet both launched LTE later in mid-2013.

While Airtel and Globacom have tested LTE in the past, major networks like MTN was still migrating WiMAX to LTE as of late 2015. NITEL plans on rolling out 4G LTE sometime this year.

In next door, Cote d’Ivoire, the YooMee network officially launched TD-LTE for consumers and businesses in April 2014. Formal use of 4G by other operators is expected to be granted sometime this year.

In Ghana, Alcatel-Lucent and Surfline Communications launched 4G LTE in August 2014, Blu also offers 4G while BusyInternet is currently testing the LTE brand.

In Senegal, Orange launched a 4G pilot trial in September 2014, Tigo had a test running through March 2015 and the regulator is calling for 4G license bids by the end of Q1 2016 after the three current mobile operators boycotted the initial request.

Several other countries are considering but are yet to log on to the 4G+LTE. Among them: Egypt announced with the help of Ericsson that it should be going in for the play sometime this year.

 Guinea’s Sotelgui is expecting LTE soon while Togo’s TogoCel launched 4G service in 2015. Chad’s Tigo starting testing the 4G LTE in N’Djamena in July 2014 and Tunisia’s Ooredoo is currently testing 4G in two cities. Tunisie Telecom is testing as well and Commercial 4G LTE will roll-out in 2016.

For the foreseeable future, Marziano and Cellcom are hoping that its subscribers will continue to benefit from cutting edge technology and boost their speed well beyond that of their competition.

“With the new technology, the current browsing speed cellular network will exceed by 100 times that of our competitors and 10 times of 3G network. We have seen an increase in customers consuming cellphones since we broke the monopoly.

Now with new technology like smartphones and l-phones we are in the process of upgrading our networks to make our customers happy and stay ahead of the competition.”

The launch comes just seven years after the LTE was formally submitted as a candidate 4G system to the ITU Telecommunication Standardization Sector (ITU-T), one of the three sectors (divisions or units) of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) which coordinates standards for telecommunications globally.

In Liberia, where the trend is catching on, subscribers are already finding it easier to navigate the web and Cellcom is pressing to ensure that the 4G+LTE brand makes the difference as it strives to stay ahead of the competition while giving its subscribers more for their money.

Active (in chronological order of 1st deployment):
Namibia: MTC began 4G LTE service in May 2012, claiming speeds 10x faster than before. TN Mobile offered a competing 4G LTE product in November 2013.
Angola: Movicel is taking a top-down approach to its deployment of 4G LTE. The company claims it is “building an elegant network” to expedite growth in Angola and has expanded to three provinces. Unitel has also offered LTE since December 2012 and is testing LTE-Advanced as of early 2014. Multitel has deployed 4G LTE in Luanda as of November 2015.
Tanzania: Smile Telecom is aiming to use 4G LTE to improve socioeconomic conditions in the country and in late 2015 rolled out VoLTE service. Tigo rolled out 4G technology in May 2013 and plans nationwide coverage by the end of 2016. Smart Telecom offers LTE. TTCL launched 4G LTE in late 2015. Zantel is launching 4G for Zanzibar in early 2016.
Mauritius: Orange launched 4G LTE in May 2012. Emtel began commercial 4G service in July 2012. MTML launched LTE in May 2015.
South Africa: Vodacom launched 4G in selected parts of Johannesburg in October 2012. MTN, Cell C, Telkom (8ta), and Neotel also have 4G LTE offerings. Telkom has deployed LTE-A in select cities.
Uganda: MTN launched a 4G LTE network in April 2013. Smile launched 4G LTE in June 2013. Orange launched in July 2013. Vodafone launched LTE in February 2015.
Nigeria: Smile has operated LTE service in Ibadan since January 2013 (and Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, Benin City since). Swift and Spectranet both have launched LTE later in mid-2013. Airtel and Globacom have tested LTE in the past. Bitflux will soon launch LTE-A. MTN is migrating WiMAX to LTE as of late 2015. NITEL plans on rolling out 4G LTE by March 2016 to major cities.
Zimbabwe: Econet Wireless has 19 LTE towers operational as of late 2015. NetOne also offers LTE in one city. Telecel is launching LTE in 2016. As of Q3 2015, there were 26,185 LTE subscriptions in the country after experiencing 5,400% growth over the quarter.
Zambia: MTN launched 4G LTE in Lusaka, Kitwe, Ndola, and Livingstone in January 2014. Zamtel will launch nationwide service in 2015 through Cell Z.
Cote d’Ivoire: YooMee officially launched TD-LTE for consumers and businesses in April 2014. Formal use of 4G by other operators will be granted in early 2016
Algeria: Algerie Telecom Mobilis launched 4G in May 2014. Three more 4G license are to be granted shortly
Ghana: Alcatel-Lucent and Surfline Communications launched 4G LTE in August 2014. Blu also offers 4G. BusyInternet is launching LTE in early 2016
Rwanda: Rwanda has signed a deal with South Korea’s KT Corp. to roll out 4G to 95% of its citizens within three years. Service began with Olleh Rwanda Networks in November 2014. Tigo now offers 4G
Senegal: Orange launched a 4G pilot trial in September 2014. Tigo had a test running through March 2015. The regulator is calling for 4G license bids by the end of Q1 2016 after the three current mobile operators boycotted the initial request
Gabon: Gabon Telecom launched 4G in Libreville in October 2014. In November 2015 the company announced 4G+ – Airtel followed suit in December 2015
Lesotho: Vodadcom has offered 4G LTE since October 2014
Morocco: Maroc Telecom tested 4G in Rabat in November 2014 and offers LTE-A in select cities. Meditel and Inwi also offer LTE in select cities as of June 2015
Seychelles: Airtel deployed a 4G/LTE network in November 2014
Kenya: Safaricom launched LTE-Advanced in December 2014. Airtel and Orange are allowed to test 4G
Madagascar: Blueline launched 4G LTE (Wi-Fi) in January 2015 in select areas (mainly the capital). Telma launched 4G in 50 cities in June 2015
Botswana: Spurred by regional competition (Angola, Namibia) Mascom began a 4G pilot project in mid-2012 and launched commercial LTE in February 2015. Orange also launched LTE in early 2015
Ethiopia: Ethio Telecom launched 4G service in March 2015
Malawi: 4G LTE is available in parts of Blantyre from Access Communications. Tazca Connects offers similar service in Lilongwe
Gambia: Netpage launched LTE fixed-wireless in April 2015
Benin: be.Telecoms officially launched commercial LTE in December 2015 after deploying throughout the year. Numerous cities have coverage
Cameroon: MTN launched 4G LTE in four cities in late 2015
Guinea-Bissau: Orange launched LTE in Bissau on December 23rd, 2015
Somalia: Somcable launched 4G LTE-A in January 2016

Coming Soon

Egypt: Announced with help of Ericsson by early 2016
DRC: Smile has plans to launch LTE in 2016. Afrimax Group is planning to deploy a TD-LTE network
Libya: Al Jeel, a smaller ISP, talked about launching LTE in the near future, but it won’t be until at least 2016
Guinea: Sotelgui expects LTE soon
Togo: TogoCel was to launch 4G service in 2015
Chad: Tigo was testing 4G LTE in N’Djamena in July 2014
Tunisia: Ooredoo is testing 4G in two cities. Tunisie Telecom is testing as well. Commercial 4G LTE will roll-out in 2016
Sudan: Zain is obtained government permission to launch a commercial LTE network in Khartoum
Cape Verde: The regulator is taking steps to issue 4G LTE licenses and spectrum
Comoros: Telma is to launch 4G at the end of 2016

Monrovia – The management of Lonestar Cell MTN has termed as unfounded, reports that it is being influenced to tap on the lines of prominent politicians in Liberia.

In a release issued Monday, Lonestar Cell MTN clarified that it does not have the requisite technology to tap the lines of its subscribers, as to do this is not only illegal, but an unacceptable business practice.

Lonestar also added that its operation is being fully monitored, as other service providers are by the Liberia Telecommunications Authority (LTA) and will not circumvent the laws or employ illegal activities against its earned reputation. At the same time, the Company has warned it will not hesitate to take necessary legal recourse against individuals and institutions that are bent on making unjustifiable accusations aimed at tarnishing its credibility and image.

Meanwhile, Lonestar Cell MTN reminds the public of its role as a corporate entity committed to providing excellent telecommunications services.  The release quotes the Chief Executive Officer of Lonestar Cell MTN, Babatunde Osho as saying “let us hasten to remind the public, as corporate entity, we are far removed from politics.

Our primary concern is to do business and help make the lives of Liberians brighter through the provision of world-class services. The commitment to transform the telecommunications experience of our customers is what matters to us most.”

LoneStarCell-MTN is the leading GSM Communication Company in Liberia. It is a Subsidiary of MTN South Africa, a leader in international telecommunication which operates in 21 countries in the Middle East, Africa and Europe.