NCC to issue two more 5G licences

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) says it is offering two slots in the 3.5 gigahertz (GHz) spectrum band for the deployment of the fifth generation (5G) network in the country.

The commission made this known on Saturday in a memorandum titled ‘Information Memorandum on 3.5 GHz Spectrum Auction’.

According to the NCC, the offering includes remaining lots of 2 x 100 megahertz (MHz) in the 3.5 GHz spectrum band “to support 5G deployment in Nigeria”.

The commission, therefore, set the reserve price at $273.60 million.

“The Reserve Price (RP) is the minimum price for one lot of 100MHz TDD for a ten (10) year licence tenure fixed at Two Hundred and Seventy-Three Million and Six Hundred Thousand United States Dollars only (US$273,600,000.00) or it’s equivalent in Naira at the prevailing Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) rates at the time of the auction,” the memorandum reads.

The commission said it had developed a draft information memorandum (IM) to support the attainment of this objective through an auction process.

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“The commission will hold a Public Consultation in respect of the draft IM on November 15, 2022,” it said.

“This is in line with the commission’s participatory rule-making process for the communications sector, to give stakeholders and interested parties an opportunity to review and comment on the draft IM before the final document is published.”

The commission added that applicants for the spectrum do not have to be licensed network operators in the country but will need a unified access service licence (UASL) if their bid is successful.

In February 2022, MTN Nigeria and Mafab Communications Limited made their full payment of $273.6 million each for a 5G spectrum licence after emerging winners of the 3. 5 GHz spectrum auction.

While MTN has rolled out the 5G mobile network, Mafab suspended roll-out till December.