KABUL, Afghanistan — The Taliban’s Ministry of Communications announced Sunday that South Africa’s MTN telecommunications company has officially transferred its Afghanistan operations to Lebanon’s M1 New Ventures, which will now operate under the new brand name ATOMA.
At a ceremony marking the transition, Najibullah Hayat Haqqani, the Taliban-appointed minister of communications, said the transfer was completed under the Taliban’s regulatory framework. He added that the ministry has also launched an auction for 48 megahertz of spectrum across three frequency bands, generating about $100 million through leasing agreements with telecommunications firms.
MTN had operated in Afghanistan since 2007, providing mobile and internet services across large parts of the country. The company announced plans in 2020 to exit its Middle East operations to refocus on its core African markets.
M1 New Ventures, a Lebanon-based investment arm of M1 Group, focuses on telecommunications and technology assets in emerging markets. It first made an offer to acquire MTN’s Afghanistan unit in November 2022 for approximately $35 million as part of a broader regional expansion strategy.
With the transfer now finalized, M1 New Ventures’ newly launched brand, ATOMA, will continue providing telecommunications services under Taliban rule, although the operating environment remains challenging due to political uncertainty, international sanctions and a fragile economy.
