MTN and Airtel Africa have confirmed that their respective Nigerian units will renew their 2100MHz spectrum licences for a further 15 years.
Both operators’ licences expired last year, and since then the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has allowed them to continue offering 3G services while negotiating the renewal of their concessions.
The operators have paid equivalent fees to renew their licences, with MTN fractionally undercutting its rival – it laid out NGN58.66 billion as opposed to Airtel’s NGN58.7 billion (roughly US$127.4 million). Both licences are valid from 1st May 2022 to 30th April 2037.
A statement from Airtel read: “This investment to renew the licence reflects our continued confidence in the opportunity inherent across the Nigerian market, supporting the local communities and economies through furthering digital inclusion and connectivity.”
As reported by CommsUpdate, the NCC has also cleared MTN to lease spectrum from ntel – specifically 5MHz of FDD spectrum in the 900MHz band as well as 10MHz in the 1800MHz band – for a period of two years commencing 1st May 2023. The airwaves cover 19 states, and MTN is paying a total of NGN4.25 billion (US$9.2 million) for the lease, including all taxes and regulatory fees.
MTN Nigeria CEO Karl Toriola described the agreement as “a significant milestone in delivering our Ambition 2025 Strategy. The access to ntel’s 900MHz and 1800MHz spectrum broadens our spectrum holdings and improves our 3G and 4G user experience as coverage and capacity will be enhanced by utilising this spectrum.”
