Big telcos renew operational licenses in Nigeria
By Oghale Mafuru
Leading telecommunication companies, Airtel and MTN have announced the renewal of their operational licenses for another 15 years following the payment renewal fees to the Nigerian Telecommunications Commission, NCC.
According to Airtel, the company paid N58.7 billion to the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to renew its 2×10 MHz 2100 MHz spectrum license in line with the vision to deepen its digital footprints through seamless connectivity and access.
“This investment to renew the license reflects our continued confidence in the opportunity inherent across the Nigerian market, supporting the local communities and economies through furthering digital inclusion and connectivity.” the company said.
Recall that earlier in the year, the company, Airtel Nigeria, acquired fourth-generation (4G) and fifth-generation (5G) spectrums from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) for a cumulative price of $316.7 million.
“This additional spectrum will support our investments in network expansion for both mobile data and fixed wireless home broadband capability, including 5G rollout, providing significant capacity to accommodate our continued strong data growth in the country and exceptional customer experience”.
The company added that the its latest transition to 5G will aid the company’s contribution to the National Broadband Plan targets by accelerating the availability and efficiency of fixed wireless access products across the country.
Promising higher speed, latency and consumer experience, the company noted that investment in new technologies and local infrastructure to accelerate its growth is a strategic priority for the group in line with the vision to provide reliable and affordable services to local communities across the country.
“The acquisition of 5G spectrum will underpin our growth strategy by enabling the launch of higher speed connectivity to enhance customer service and accelerate digitalization for consumers, enterprises and the public sector.
“The acquisition of 2600MHz spectrum will complement our already strong spectrum position in the market to enhance network capacity and future-proof our growth opportunity” the telco said.
Meanwhile, MTN Nigeria Communications has announced that it will continue to operate its 3G mobile services for another 15 years in Nigeria after it paid the Nigerian Communications Commission N58.66bn for license renewal.
“In addition, having accepted NCC’s offer to renew our 2100MHz spectrum for a period of 15 years, effective from 1 May 2022 to 30 April 2037, MTN Nigeria has paid N58.66 billion to the NCC. The 2100MHz spectrum license enables the provision of 3G mobile services on our network.”.
In 2021, MTN and Mafab Communications won the bid for 3.5 gigahertz (GHz) spectrum auction conducted by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) for the award of the Fifth Generation (5G) Spectrum Licenses.
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