Unitel-STP launches telecommunications services in Sao Tome

Unitel-STP, a subsidiary of Angolan mobile phone operator Unitel, Tuesday launched its commercial telecommunications services in Sao Tome and Principe the company’s managing director, Manuel Lemos said.
The announcement was made at a ceremony to inaugurate the Unitel-STP centre on the outskirts of the capital of Sao Tome, which was attended by the Prime Minister of Sao Tome and Principe, Gabriel Costa.
Unitel-STP is a subsidiary of Unitel International Holding, owned by Angolan businesswoman Isabel dos Santos, which in March of last year was granted the second license to operate a mobile phone network in Sao Tome and Principe after paying a contract fee of USD7.5 billion.
Unitel’s operations in Angola are the result of the liberalisation of telecommunications services on the archipelago two years ago. Before liberalisation Portugal Telecom, via Companhia Santomense de Telecomunicações, CST, had a monopoly on telecommunications in Sao Tome and Principe.
After Sonangol, which has a monopoly on fuel sales in Sao Tome and Principe, Isabel dos Santos’ Unitel is the second Angolan investment in the West African archipelago. MDT/Macauhub