Uganda Communications Commission [UCC] announced Friday in a statement that financially struggling K2 Telecom subscribers will switch to Airtel Uganda.
This comes almost three months now after the Buganda Kingdom owned telecommunication company was shut down over tax evasion by government.
Abdu Waisswa Salaam, the UCC’s legal chief says this new development will be carried out by Airtel until 2021.
“All networks and quality issues are to be managed by Airtel Uganda from today until 2021,” Waisswa says.
The statement reads further: “Airtel which is the Uganda’s second largest telecom, has taken over K2’s network operations with the latter left to operate as a virtual telecom.”
In what many are thinking it’s a complete purchase of K2 Telecom by Airtel, Uganda Revenue Authority [URA] head of public and corporate affairs, Seruma Vincent disagrees.
He says that the deal is not a takeover unless all outstanding tax obligations required are cleared by K2 telecom.
This year, URA ordered for the shutdown of Buganda owned telecom after it had failed to clear off shs.94.8 million tax arrears accumulated in four years.
Of the above figure, shs.77.8 million was for pay as you earn and shs.17 million in exercise duty.
In this new arrangement, the over 100,000 K2 subscribers will buy a K2-Airtel simcard expected to cost shs.2, 000 for each simcard.