Liberia Sets to Get New Mobile Company

President George Weah is set to launch the rebranded Libtelco which will now be known as Liberia Telecommunications Corporation, with new acronym, (LTC Mobile).

The launch will include the introduction of mobile GSM services by the Corporation and President Weah will make the first voice call on the new network (0220). The launch is expected to take place after the President’s State of the Nation Address.

According to the management, though LTC Mobile which is owned by the Government, it is not the government’s intention to take the existing service providers out of business but rather fill in the gaps and meet the needs of the Liberian people. 

However, the management said it is the vision of President Weah to make LTC a viable telecommunications company in the sub-region that can be compared to MTN which is owned by the South African Government or Orange which is owned by the French Government and Vodacom which 25% owned by the South African Government through Telkom SA SOC Limited (formerly as the Department of Posts and Telegraphs) and 75% by the company called Vodafone in the  United Kingdom. 

The LTC management dispelled the misconception that the LTC Mobile will be playing the role of a regulator and at the same time a player since it’s government owned. LTC Mobile all other services providers, LTC Mobile does pay Spectrum fees, licenses and is being regulated by the Liberia Telecommunications Authority – LTA. And LTC Mobile has been issued a Mobile Network Operator (MNO License) with designated frequencies to be able to operate in the mobile network space.

The management noted that the regulation of the sector solely lies with the Liberia Telecommunications Authority while LTC is a service provider like other state-owned enterprises.  

The Liberia Telecommunications Corporation (LTC) was established in 1973 as the sole fixed line telephone operator in Liberia. With the passage of the Telecommunications Act of 2007, the Corporation was re-organized as LIBTELCO and designated as Liberia’s national telecommunications operator. It has been operating a CDMA 2000 1X-EVDO network that provides affordable voice and data services in Liberia.

However, with its ascendancy, the Weah-led administration has set an ambitious plan to expand the scope and operations of the Corporation. In 2020, the 2007 Act was amended to ensure that the LTC provided full scale mobile network operations in Liberia.