NCC addresses stakeholders' concerns over plan to auction more 3.5GHz spectrum

NCC addresses stakeholders’ concerns over plan to auction more 3.5GHz spectrum

*As Danbatta assures timely deployment of additional 5G spectrum

Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has met with the critical stakeholders in the industry to address various concerns, as it plans to auction its last two lots of the 3.5GHz spectrum band next month.

Following the successful auction of the initial two lots of the 3.5GHz spectrum in December 2021, Executive Vice-Chairman (EVC) of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Umar Danbatta, on Tuesday said the commission will ensure timely deployment of the second spectrum bands for 5G.

Speaking at stakeholders’ consultative forum in Lagos to review comments made to the NCC’s recently released Information Memorandum regarding the planned auction of two 3.5GHz spectrums for 5G deployment, the EVC noted that the auction is not to make money for the federal government, stressing that revenue generation is not a determinant.

“We are not in any way raising revenue for the federal government. The revenue to be generated is dictated by the last auction price. We also did not raise the amount used for auction prices,” he said.

The EVC, therefore, noted that the commission has received requests to administratively licence the available lots at the previous auction fee.

According to him, the engagement was in line with the strategic vision to promote fair competition and inclusive growth and increase investment and innovative services.

“The commission has committed enormous resources to ensure that harmonised spectrum is secured and released in a timely manner for present and future rollout of services that will underpin the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR), including International Mobile Telecommunication (IMT-2020) services.

“Hence, it is important that we ensure the timely release of the spectrum bands necessary for 5G deployment to the industry to enable us to reap the immediate and envisaged benefits of 5G technology and facilitate the development of Nigeria’s digital economy to foster national growth.”

The last two lots to be auctioned in December 2022 are Lot A (3400-3500MHz) and Lot C (3600-3700MHz) for the reserve price of $273,600,000,000.

“However, the commission, in line with its powers under the Nigerian Communications Act 2003, has decided to licence the available lots in the 3.5GHz band through the auction method, which is a transparent and efficient approach that can open up opportunities for new entrants as well as deepen competition in the industry”, he said.

However, Airtel Nigeria requested that the Commission should administratively assign it one of the remaining 3.5GHz spectrum lots at the reserve price of $273.6 million.

The telecom operator argued that getting one of the two 3.5GHz spectrums by administrative assignment would ensure it does not participate in another auction where the licence ultimately goes to the highest bidder.

It would be recalled that Airtel had participated in the first auction held in December last year, which saw MTN and Mafab Communications emerging as winners.

Meanwhile, the NCC turned down Airtel’s request, noting that though it was a fair request, the process has been set out and the spectrum would be allocated through auction only.

At the last 5G spectrum auction, NCC had fixed the reserve price at $197.4 million. The price was pushed to $273.6 million, which was the final price paid by MTN and Mafab to acquire the licence. The $273.6 million is now the reserve price for the remaining spectrum lots billed to be auctioned on December 19, 2022.