Zain pays first installment to acquire additional spectrum

Mobile Telecommunications Co. Saudi Arabia (Zain Saudi) has paid its first installment, worth SAR 253.8 million, to acquire additional spectrum, it said in a statement to the Saudi bourse on Thursday.

The installment represents 30 percent of the total cost of SAR 844 million.

The payment was made from the company’s operating cash flow sources, the statement said, adding that the remaining amount will be paid as annual installments of 7 percent over a ten-year period.

Financial impact will take place starting from Jan. 1, 2018, Zain said.

The telco anticipates the acquired new spectrum will increase its LTE network capacity by 50 percent, allowing customers to experience an average increase of 80 percent in download speed.

The additional spectrum will also help ease network congestion, without the need for major changes in existing infrastructure.

In June, Zain said it had acquired 10 megahertz (MHz) of the 1800 MHz spectrum band for SAR 844 million.