Nigeria has projected to earn $224 million from the auction of 14 lots of 2.6 GHz spectrum broadband licences.
This was disclosed by Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) in an Information Memorandum on Saturday.
NCC said the proposed licensing of 2.6 GHz Spectrum has been influenced by the need to open up the space for the delivery of present and future generations of broadband services to subscribers in consonance with the Nigerian National Broadband Plan of 2013.
According to the memorandum, the 14 broadband licences would be issued at a reserve price of $16 million each.
According to NCC, relevant industry stakeholders were consulted to determine the demand and the best way to issue the Spectrum and that based on these and observations of developments in international licensing trends, it 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 memorandum further hinted that the spectrum was being offered by the commission on a technology neutral basis and could be used to provide any telecommunications services.
“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. 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: $16,000,000 each lot of 2 X 5 MHz represents 1 eligibility point.
“An applicant that pays the IBD for 6 lots will have a total of 6 Eligibility Points. 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.
“For Example, Reserve Price for an Applicant that applied for 6 Lots i.e. 6 Eligibility Point is: $16,000,000 X 6 = $96,000,000. The Spectrum lots won by each Bidder will be assigned on a nationwide basis covering all the States of the Federation and the FCT,” it reads.
It further pointed out that given key demographic and economic developments throughout the country, and in particular the subsequent potential scale and growth of Internet penetration in Nigeria, the next phase of expansion in the telecommunications sector provides a number of major opportunities for telecommunications operators, subscribers and the economy in general.
Auction of the spectrum was suspended by the federal government in November 2014, citing administrative reasons.
-Leadership