The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) plans to hold a new 5G spectrum auction in December, and MTN Nigeria requested to participate at the stakeholder engagement forum on the information memorandum (IM).
MTN Nigeria explained that this participation is expected to allow it to acquire an additional 100 MHz of spectrum in the 3.5 GHz band, which will "ensure that all spectrum can be allocated and used efficiently." However, many industry stakeholders, including Airtel Nigeria, have opposed MTN Nigeria's participation, arguing that it violates competition laws.
Nigeria has planned to award a total of four 5G licenses. The first two were awarded to MTN Nigeria Plc and Mafab Communications Ltd. in December 2021, following the first telecom spectrum auction for 5G. Airtel Nigeria, whose last bid was US$270 million, lost out to these two companies with bids of US$273.6 million each. On October 21, the regulator announced that it would auction the two remaining 5G licenses on December 19, each at a reserve price of US$273.6 million.
The NCC mentioned that there would be further consultations on the issue of MTN's participation. According to the regulator, all requests will be considered, and final feedback will be provided before the auction.