Rwanda's telecom industry regulator has fined MTN Rwanda, a division of South Africa's MTN Group, $8.5 million – the equivalent of R112 million – for running its IT services outside the country in breach of its licence. In a ruling posted on its website, the Rwanda Utilities Regulatory Authority said that MTN Rwanda was hosting its IT services hub in Uganda, which it had prohibited.
MTN Group said in a statement:
"MTN has been engaging with the regulator on this matter over the past four months. MTN Rwanda is currently studying the official notification and will continue to engage with the regulator on this matter."
This is not MTN's first fine: the Nigerian Communications Commission imposed a $5.2 billion fine on the group's Nigerian subsidiary after it failed to disconnect more than five million unregistered sims. This amount was later reduced to around $1 billion.
