The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) On Wednesday announced that by the close of business on Monday, December 5, 2022, only two companies expressed interest in the auction of the 3.5GHz Spectrum band namely;
i. Airtel Networks Limited (Airtel) and
ii. Standard Network & Connections Limited (Standard Network).
However, only Airtel paid the Intention to Bid Deposit (IBD) as stipulated in the Information Memorandum (IM) whereas, Standard Network sent an email appeal for the deadline to be extended by twelve (12) working days which was not acceptable in view of the auction timetable.
Having met all the provision in the IM, Airtel has, therefore, emerged as the sole Bidder.
Consequently, there shall be no further bidding and the Commission will proceed to the Assignment Stage in line with the published Information Memorandum guiding the licensing process
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) had put on offer two additional slots in the 3.5 Gigahertz (GHz) spectrum band for the deployment 5G network in the country.
It set the reserve price at $547.2 million, translating to $273.60 million for each licence.
NCC disclosed this in its Draft Information Memorandum, titled ‘Information Memorandum on 3.5 GHz Spectrum Auction’, which it published on its official website.
According to NCC, the offering includes the remaining lots of 2 x 100 megahertz (MHz) in the 3.5 GHz spectrum band to support 5G deployment in Nigeria.
NCC last December, offered a 3.5GHz spectrum to MTN Nigeria Communications Plc and Mafab Communication to support their 5G rollout.
Since NCC awarded the 5G spectrum, MTN has launched its 5G network in selected locations while Mafab is yet to roll out its 5G network.
“The spectrum reserve price (RP) is the minimum price for one slot of 100MHz TDD for a 10-year licence tenure fixed at $273,600,000.00 or its equivalent in Naira at the prevailing Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) rates at the time of the auction, according to the memorandum.
The commission said it had developed a draft information memorandum (IM) to support the attainment of this objective through an auction process.
“The commission will hold a Public Consultation in respect of the draft information memorandum (IM) on November 15, 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 memorandum further said.
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.
