The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), has said that the auction of two lots of 3.5GHz Spectrum will take place as planned assuring the industry players that as a regulatory body holding in trust the management and administration of scarce spectrum resources on behalf of Federal government, it will continue to make spectrum available.
The Commission in a statement issued by its Director, Public Affairs, Mr Reuben Muoka, also promised to ensure that harmonized and standardized Spectrum resources are made available in a timely manner to ensure its optimal utilisation.
“The impact of the Commission’s regulatory activities in this regard is evident in the contribution of ICT, and telecommunications in particular, to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the country”, the NCC stated.
The Act allows available Spectrum resources to be licensed through different methods. Spectrum licensing via Auction is one of the most transparent methods of assigning Spectrum resources globally.
The Commission recalled that in response to requests for more Spectrum lots to be made available during the 2021 Stakeholders’ engagement had estimated a period of 24 months to clear all encumbrances in the remaining two (2) lots of the 3.5GHz band.
“The Information Memorandum that guided the 2021 Auction process further stated the Commission’s intention to migrate incumbent users of the remaining portion of the C-band to free up Spectrum and make it available for the deployment of new services. The Commission has achieved the clearance earlier than estimated 24 months, thus making the Spectrum available for licensing”, the statement noted.
According to the NCC, the auction is designed to boost competition by making it open to both new entrants as well as existing licensees urging interested applicants to adhere to the requirements as specified in the Information Memorandum for participation in the Auction.
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