The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has issued final letters of award of the Fifth Generation (5G) Spectrum licence to MTN and Mafab Communications, winners of the 3.5 gigahertz (GHz) spectrum auction conducted last year as it sets August 24, for them to commence deployment of the 5G network.
In a statement on Wednesday, NCC said the management led by its Executive Vice Chairman (EVC), Prof Umar Garba Danbatta, confirmed this to the board of commissioners at the board’s special meeting earlier in April.
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With the issuance of the final letters of awards, the two licensees are now expected to accelerate deployment of 5G network that will usher Nigeria into a more robust Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) and a more digitised Nigerian economy among the comity of nations.
The 5G network is expected to bring substantial network improvements, including higher connection speed, mobility and capacity, as well as low-latency capabilities.
The auction was held on December 13, 2021 while the National Frequency Management Council (NFMC), chaired by the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, had, on February 22, 2022, handed over the spectrum allocation for 5G deployment as well as the Federal Government-approved National Policy on 5G to NCC.
NCC on February 24, 2022, confirmed the full payment of $273.6 million each by the two spectrum winners, in addition to spectrum assignment fee paid by MTN, for the 5G spectrum licence.
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