Moov Togo suspended over licence quarrel

After several weeks of fruitless negotiations over licence terms, the Togolese government has switched off Moov Togo’s network. Moov, part of Etisalat’s Atlantique Telecom subsidiary, had been asked by the government to pay CFA20 billion (USD44 million) to renew its licence, which expired in June 2008. However discussions between the pair failed to reach agreement by the deadline of 10 August 2009, leading to the network’s closure. The government added that only Togocel, the state-owned wireless network operator, has begun efforts to renew its concession. Togocel is reported to have around 1.2 million subscribers, while Moov had around half as many.