The Federal Government is expected to rake in $224 million from the sale of 14 lots in the 2.6Gigahertz spectrum band licensing to telecommunication operating companies slated for May this year.
According to a document posted on the website of the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, titled ‘2.6 GHz Spectrum Auction Information Memorandum’, the sale of the spectrum is part of the National Broadband Plan intended to provide Nigerians access to highspeed internet.
The Commission indicated that the document defined the process that the Commission has decided to adopt for the licensing of 2 X 70 MHz paired Spectrum available in the 2.6 GHz band adding that it provides information on the Nigerian telecommunications market, details of the Spectrum to be made available, the prequalification process, the Auction process and indicative timetable. In addition, it hinted that it had consulted with the relevant industry stakeholders to determine the demand and the best way to issue Spectrum. NCC stated: “Based on these and observations of developments in international licensing trends, the Commission has decided to license the available 2 X 70 MHz slot in slots of 5 MHz to be aggregated by applicants through the Spectrum auction process. “The Commission offers 14 Lots of 2 X 5 MHz FDD paired Spectrum in the 2.6 GHz band ranging from 2500 – 2570MHz and 2620 to 2690MHz (totaling 2 X 70 MHz) for auction”, the Commission added.
It explained further that the Spectrum was being offered on a technology neutral basis and can be used to provide any telecommunications services, adding that “for roll-out of services, the Commission intends to follow the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) recommendation setting aside Spectrum in the 2.6GHz band for the provision of advanced wireless broadband services.” According to the regulatory institution, the Generic Reserve Price (GR) is the minimum price at which a Lot shall be sold, which is the Reserve Price for one Lot of 2 X 5MHz and has a value of: Sixteen Million United States Dollars only (US$16,000,000.00) It stated that each lot of 2 X 5 MHz represented 1 eligibility point and that an applicant that paid the IBD for 6 lots would have a total of 6 Eligibility Points while the Reserve Price (R) for an applicant will be calculated as the GR multiplied by the number of lots (N) applied for by the applicant.
The Commission clarified further that the Spectrum lots won by each Bidder will be assigned on a nationwide basis covering all the States of the Federation and the FCT, and that for the purpose of enforcing the “used it – or – lost it” clause, a Licence will be issued for each of the States of the Federation as well as for the FCT to each winning bidder. The document also indicated that each winner without a current Unified Access Service License, UASL, which is the Operational License, will be issued one at an additional fee of N374,600,000.00. The NCC maintained that applicants must transfer an Intention-to-Bid Deposit (IBD) equal to Intention-to-Bid Deposit (IBD) for a Lot which is US$1,600,000.00 multiplied by its Eligibility Points (Number of Lots applied for) into the designated account in cleared funds.
Source: Mirror
