Broadband licences to go for $16m

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) is set to auction 14 new broadband licences for a reserve price of $16 million each, the telecoms regulator said in its information memorandum released on Saturday.

The 2.6 GHz spectrum auction is expected to provide millions of Nigerians access to high-speed internet in line with the Nigerian National Broadband Plan of 2013.

In the memorandum, the NCC said it consulted relevant stakeholders before determining the process to be adopted for auction which was suspended in 2014 by former president Goodluck Jonathan.

“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 said.

“The Spectrum and Reserve Price 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.”

It said the spectrum is offered on a “technology neutral basis” – and can 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 memorandum stated.

“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) 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 Points is: US$16,000,000.00X 6 = US$96,000,000.00 The Spectrum lots won by each Bidder will be assigned on a nationwide basis covering all the States of the Federation and the FCT.”