NCC Sets $273.6m Asking Price for 5G Spectrum

The Nigerian Communications Commission has set the reserve price for its new 5G spectrums at $273.60m.

This is as it revealed plans to issue two more 5G licences after announcing the auction for its remaining spectrum band on Friday.

It said, “The reserve price is the minimum price for one Lot of 100MHz TDD for a 10-year licence tenure fixed at $273.60m or its equivalent in Naira at the prevailing Central Bank of Nigeria rates at the time of the auction.”

According to the NCC, it is offering the remaining lots of 2 x 100MHz in the 3.5GHz spectrum band to support 5G deployment in the nation. It disclosed this in its ‘Information Memorandum on 3.5 GHz Spectrum Auction’ on Saturday.

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, totalling 200 MHz for auction. This will be awarded to winning bidders in the 100 MHz Lot.”

Since the NCC awarded its 5G spectrum, MTN has launched a 5G network in selected locations while Mafab is yet to establish.

In its new IM, the NCC said it will hold a public consultation regarding the draft IM soon. It revealed, “The commission will hold a public consultation in respect of the draft 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 commission added that applicants for the spectrum do not have to be licensed network operators in the nation but will need a Unified Access Service Licence if their bid is successful.

This is coming after the NCC auctioned and awarded two slots of 100Mhz of the said spectrum to MTN Communications Nigeria Plc and Mafab Communications Limited in December 2021. Prior to the December auction, the commission had disclosed that it was in the process of unclogging more spectrum bands.

The two telcos paid $273.6 million each for their 5G spectrum licence. At the time, the reserve price was $197.4m. At the time, experts in the industry kicked against the reserve price. According to them, it was beyond market realities.