MTN Nigeria wants to bid for a new 5G spectrum application this year

MTN Nigeria Communication Plc, the country’s largest telecom provider, has expressed interest in taking part in the Nigerian Communications Commission’s (NCC) planned auction of two additional 3.5GHz spectrums.

The telecommunications behemoth claimed that by adding an extra 100Mhz to the 3.5GHz spectrum band, it will be able to provide 5G services more effectively.

Recall that Mafab Communications and MTN jointly won the first 3.5GHz spectrum auction held by the NCC in December 2021. For the license, the two businesses each paid $273.6 million.

As of right now, Mafab’s rollout deadline has expired in January 2023, making MTN the sole telecom provider in Nigeria to have launched 5G service.

The business has recently expressed interest in obtaining a second lot of the same spectrum. A draft Information Memorandum (IM) for the 3.5GHz spectrum auction specifies that any operator who has already obtained an identical license is ineligible to bid.

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The agency said in the IM that licensees with Spectrum holdings in the 3.5GHz band were ineligible. MTN argues that: While the telecom regulator is scheduled to announce the final IM for the auction on November 18, it still welcomes input from stakeholders. Regarding the draft, MTN stated:

“We note, with concern, the provision of the draft IM which provides that: “the Commission places a cap of 100MHz as the maximum amount of Spectrum a license can acquire in the 3.5GHz band” and respectfully invite the Commission to note that it had provided the assurance that an operator’s emergence as a winning bidder in the 2021 auction of spectrum in the 3.5GHz spectrum band will not be a restriction on the said operator’s ability to participate in future licensing processes.

“The unfettered ability of previous winners from the December 2021 auction to participate in this instant spectrum auction will further engender a more robust and highly competitive Spectrum auction process.

“MTN respectfully reiterates its prior recommendation that to ensure that all the spectrum can be assigned and used efficiently, it will be appropriate to allow successful bidders in the prior auctions of spectrum in the 3.5GHz (or indeed any other spectrum band) to participate in future awards. It is in MTN’s considered View that a cumulative cap of 200Mhz in the 3.5 GHz band would be appropriate across all awards in the band.”