The Nigerian Communications Commission on Wednesday declared MTN Nigeria as the winner of its latest auction for a 10-year frequency spectrum license for the 2.6GHz band.
This was contained in a statement by MTN Nigeria Chief Executive Officer, Ferdi Moolman, in Lagos.
The statement quoted Moolman as saying that the spectrum would guarantee superior performance for wireless networks, especially 4G LTE services.
He said that NCC had earlier confirmed that MTN’s bid was in full compliance with the relevant provisions of the Information Memorandum for the exercise in which MTN emerged as sole approved bidder.
He added that although Nigeria was one of 28 African countries that currently offer 4G/LTE services, the rate of penetration was restricted to a few major cities.
The MTN boss said as such MTN’s success in this auction was a big boost to its plan to deliver global mobile broadband and LTE 4G services to over 60 million customers in Nigeria.
He said it also planned to use FDD networks in addition to its existing WIMAX over TDD networks, as this would provide greater consistency with existing 2G and 3G deployments.
He said: “After complying with all the requirements for the 2.6GHz auction and making the license payment of N18.96 billion to the NCC, MTN has been issued a letter of award.
“With the 2.6 GHz band, we expect to roll out and provide the full range of LTE services to Nigerians, empowering Nigeria with the latest mobile broadband technology.”
Moolman said the award of the spectrum by the NCC was open, transparent and competitive, which all operators, local and foreign, enjoyed equal and unfettered rights of participation.
He said the NCC had described the spectrum as a significant trigger for a broadband revolution that would unlock benefits such as greater coverage, access, affordability and innovation with the customer at the centre of these gains.
He cited a study by McKinsey, which showed that a 10 per cent increase in broadband penetration was associated with a 1.4 per cent increase in GDP growth in developing markets.
He said the knock-on effect on individuals, businesses and multiple sectors of the economy signal far reaching implications for socio-economic growth and development.
He said the development was a step in the right direction for Nigeria as MTN was fully aligned and supports the NCC’s objective.
Moolman said the objective to deliver broadband services to present and future generations of subscribers in line with the National Broadband Plan of 2013 was utmost.
He said: “This licence acquisition further demonstrates MTN’s abiding faith in the future of Nigeria and the resilience of the Nigerian economy.
“MTN continues to believe in Nigeria and we have expressed this belief in the level of our investment, which currently stands at approximately 15 billion dollars and counting.
“We strongly believe that there is need for significant levels of investment in broadband infrastructure and services to truly launch Nigeria into the information age. We are honoured to be the arrowhead.
“In addition, we are also delighted that the matter of the fine imposed by the NCC was amicably settled in the interest of all parties and are pleased to announce that the first payment of N30 billion in the terms of settlement has already been disbursed to the NCC.
“In addition to the earlier payment of N50 billion which we paid in good faith and without prejudice on Feb. 24, this means we have now paid a total of N80 billion.”
Moolman added that in addition to aggressive investment, MTN had also built the most extensive private fibre optics superhighway in Africa and the Middle East, covering approximately 16,000 kilometres.
He said: “The 2.6GHz acquisition has set the stage for the roll-out of 4G LTE broadband internet services across the country, starting in the major cities of Lagos and Abuja.
“Our subscribers, especially those in clustered areas such as the major cities, can expect distinct improvements in browsing speed, quality and experience.
“This means that they will have fast access to high definition video streaming, as well as conferencing and calling, lag-free music streaming, and improved data uploads and downloads.”
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