MTN, Mafab win Nigeria’s 5G licences

MTN Nigeria and Mafab Communications Limited have been awarded the slots for the 5G spectrum in the auction by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).

MTN is a telco giant in Nigeria, while Mafab Communications Ltd. was incorporated in 2020 and licensed by the Nigerian Telecommunications commission to provide and operate Local Interconnect and International carrier services.

The auction, which took place on Monday, December 13, at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja, was done using the ascending clock auction system.

Three qualified bidders for the 3.5 GHz spectrum, namely: MTN Nigeria, Mafab Communications Ltd, and Airtel Networks Ltd, participated in the software-based simulated auction exercise.

The reserve price per lot was initially set at $197,400,00 but was raised repeatedly by the auction manager, reaching $275,904,886.25 at round 11 — with Airtel dropping off. The bidding process then moved to the assignment stage.

The assignment stage is an auction mechanism to resolve any such conflicts and where the winning bidder (s) will specify the date for the payment of the upfront fee.

At the assignment stage, MTN offered $15,900,00 and was assigned lot one, while Mafab offered $11,120,000 and awarded slot two at no extra cost.

TheCable understands that the first slot (spectrum) is 3500-3600mhz while the second slot is 3700-3800mhz.

The two winners are expected to pay by February 24, 2022, at the prevailing exchange rate.