The Nigerian Communications Commission is set to offer by auction two additional 5G licenses in the 3.5 Gigahertz spectrum band to support the 5G network in the country. The commission has set the reserve price for each slot of the new 5G spectrum at $273.60m.
This is according to a disclosure in a Draft Information Memorandum titled ”Information Memorandum on 3.5 GHz Spectrum Auction,” published on the commission’s website.
According to NCC, it is offering the remaining lots of 2 x 100 megahertz (MHz) in the 3.5 GHz spectrum band to support 5G deployment in Nigeria. It stated, “The Commission is offering the remaining 2 Lots of 100 MHz TDD Spectrum in the 3.5 GHz band ranging from 3400 – 3500 MHz and 3600 – 3700 MHz, totaling 200 MHz for auction. This will be awarded to winning bidders in the 100 MHz Lot.”
The reserve price which is a minimum of $273.60m (or its naira equivalent at the prevailing CBN rates at the time of the auction) for one Lot of 100MHz is for a 10-year license tenure.
What NCC is saying
The Commission has stated that it will not set aside any spectrum for any organization. Reservation is viewed as biased and able to create an unlevel playing field.
“Any Licensee of the Commission or any entity that has up to 100MHz in the 3.5GHz band in Nigeria will not be eligible to participate in this Auction. Applicants (Domestic and Foreign) are not required to be Licensed Network Operators but must be incorporated in Nigeria before the Licence is issued. Applicants will be subject to a set of pre-qualification criteria and only those that meet these criteria will be allowed to take part in the Auction.”
The Commission stated that it will hold “a Public Consultation in respect of the draft IM on 15 November 2022. 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 Information Memorandum serves as guidelines for the auction process and is for informational purposes only. According to the commission, it should not be interpreted as the Commission’s advice to any stakeholder to participate in the Auction and is not meant to serve as the only basis for an investment choice.
What you should know
Previously, the NCC issued licenses for 2 slots of 100Mhz in the 3.5 Gigahertz spectrum band through auction in December 2021 to MTN Communications Nigeria Plc and Mafab Communications Limited. The commission had indicated that it was clearing up more spectrum bands before the December auction.
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Each of the two carriers paid $273.6 million for a license to use 5G airwaves. The reserve price at the time was $197.4 million.
MTN rolled out the 5G mobile network in September 2022, while Mafab Communications got the approval to extend its roll-out till December 31, 2022.
