MTN Move to Buy Another 5G Licence From NCC, Airtel, 9mobile, others Protest, Make Demands
- MTN telecommunications is looking to buy another 5G licence from the Nigerian government
- This has come as a huge surprise to other telecommunication companies, given that MTN already secured a 5G licence for $273.6 million some months ago
- NCC recently announced plans to sell two other 5G network licences to any willing telecommunication company
MTN Nigeria has indicated joining other telecommunication companies to bid for another 5G network licence.
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) announced plans to sell two additional slots in the 3.5 Gigahertz (GHz) spectrum band for the deployment 5G network in the country.
Each licence is reserved for $273.60 million, translating to $547.2 million in total, according to the Draft Information Memorandum published on the NCC website.
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According to ThisDay, Nigeria has four 5G licenses, two of which have been auctioned to MTN and Mafab communication and are yet to be commercialized.
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Why MTN wants another licence
According to BusinessDay, a spokeswoman for MTN Nigeria said that the company plans to purchase another 5G license at the Stakeholders Engagement on the Draft Information Memorandum (IM) on the 3.5GHz Spectrum Auction.
The representative stated that the firm entered the last auction in 2021 with the understanding that it would be an open market and that it would be permitted to participate in future auctions if necessary.
MTN give reasons for buying another licence
MTN explains that it won Lot B in 2021, and NCC is currently auctioning Lot A and C.
The telco position is that OEMs manufacturing the 5G equipment often produce for two lots, either A and B or B a C.
MTN argued that having a licence for two lots provides it with the necessary equipment for effective deployment, making the service cost cheaper for consumers.
Competitors not happy with MTN's move
The move by MTN has rattled telecommunications operators and requested the NCC ignore Nigeria's request.
The representatives of telcos like Airtel argued that the move by MTN goes against the spirit of competition in the market for one telco to hold more than one licence when other players are yet to get any of the licences.
They therefore objected to MTN’s request to be allowed to participate in the upcoming 5G licence auction in December 2022.
Nigerian government reacts to MTN requests
Ubale Maska, Executive Commissioner, Technical Services, NCC, said MTN’s request isn’t a first in the telco industry as there are precedents and Nigeria is an open market.
Also, Umar Garba Danbatta, Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, said all requests will be given due consideration and final feedback made before the auction.
He added that more comments are invited, and the auction process isn’t to generate revenue for the government.
Danbatta said:
“The motive is not to generate money for the federal government. It has nothing to do with the revenue we are going to generate. The price was determined by the last auction. We will always make reference to the reserve price no matter when the auction was had.”
MTN Nigeria, Mafab Pay over Half a Billion Dollars to get 5G License
In an earlier report, Legit.ng disclosed that the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) declared MTN Nigeria and Mafab Communications winners of the two slots of the 3.5GHz spectrum auction for the Fifth Generation (5G) network licenses for a total fee of $546m or N226.6 billion at the N415/$ exchange rate.
The bids ended at $273 million for both MTN and Mafab communication in a live auction held at Hilton Transcorp Hotel, Abuja.
The two winners were selected after nearly eight hours and 11 rounds of auctions which began at $199.37 million as against the reserve price of $197.4 million.
Source: Legit.ng
