Rwanda's regulator approves mergence of major telecom operators

KIGALI, Jan. 24 (Xinhua) -- Rwanda Utilities Regulatory Authority (RURA) Wednesday said it had approved the acquisition of Tigo Rwanda, a major telecommunication company in Rwanda, by its rival Airtel.

"As such, RURA announces the transfer of all shares of Millicom International Cellular S.A. in TIGO Rwanda to Airtel Rwanda Ltd.," said a statement released by RURA.

Tigo Rwanda is a subsidiary of Millicom International Cellular S.A..

The consolidation of the two operators is expected to bring industry stability, improved quality of services and product innovation, according to RURA.

The statement said subscribers will not be required to change their existing TIGO telephone numbers and existing TIGO cash services will not be affected.

Statistics released by RURA in October 2017 shows that Tigo had 40-percent share of Rwanda's total 8,675,826 active subscribers, compared to MTN's 41 percent, while Airtel had 19 percent.

Millicom said in a statement in December that it signed an agreement for the sale of its Rwanda operations in line with company strategy to focus on providing advanced fixed and mobile data services in Latin America.

Latin America markets contribute 86 percent of Millicom's group revenue, according to the website of Millicom. Enditem