Airtel Africa spends $42m on additional spectrum in DRC

Airtel Africa announced the purchase of 58 MHz of additional spectrum in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) on Monday, spread across the 900, 1800, 2100 and 2600 MHz bands, for gross consideration of $42m (£33.55m).

The FTSE 100 company said the licence for paired spectrum in the 2100 band would come up for renewal in September 2032, while all the other licences would continue until July 2036.

It said the additional spectrum would support its 4G expansion in the market for both mobile data and fixed wireless home broadband capability, providing “significant capacity” to accommodate its continued data growth in the country.

“DRC is the largest country by area in our portfolio and our second largest market by population,” the Airtel board said in its statement.

“This investment reflects our continued confidence in the tremendous opportunity inherent in the DRC, supporting the local communities and economies through furthering digital inclusion and connectivity.”

At 0832 BST, shares in Airtel Africa were up 2.73% at 158.1p.

Reporting by Josh White at Sharecast.com.