June 30, 2023 10:59 PMA Ugandan high court has set aside an arbitral award to American Tower Corporation Uganda Limited and Eaton Towers Uganda Limited, two cell tower companies, against Smile Communications Uganda Limited.
However, the communications service has been off the grid since January 31, 2022 due to a commercial dispute between the telco and ATC, the tower infrastructure provider since 2018.Smile accused the tower company of “illegally” disconnecting its network, causing significant damage to its investment in Uganda, and costing the business $120 million.
The arbitrator ordered Smile to pay the billed outstanding sums of $297,721.79 as well as the unbilled amounts due to the expiry of leases on 25 sites amounting to $854,194.29.