MARGARET CHIDERA
KANO, Nigeria – The Federal Government generated more than $847.8 million through the sale of the Fifth Generation (5G) C-Band Spectrum, according to Prof. Umar Danbatta, executive vice chairman, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).
Danbatta who stated this during a media briefing in Kano recently also said that additionally, subscriptions to 5G services in the country have reached 500,000.
“Following the authorisation of more telecommunications companies to operate in Nigeria’s telecoms sector, the investment profile has increased tremendously from $38 billion in 2015 to $75 billion currently and this keeps growing daily. From the sales of Fifth Generation (5G) C-Band Spectrum, the NCC has generated over $847.8 million for the Federal Government,” he said.
Three operators including MTN, Airtel, and Mafab Communications have been licensed by the NCC to provide 5G services in Nigeria.
MTN initiated its 5G service rollout in September of last year, with Airtel following suit earlier this year.
He added, “Other milestones and initiatives recorded aside the regulatory activities that culminated in the landmark launch of 5G services in Nigeria include the introduction of Spectrum Trading Guidelines, re-farming and re-planning certain spectrum band for efficiency, the emplaced collaborative process for the release of C-Band Spectrum by Nigerian Communications Satellite (NIGCOMSAT) Limited, and introduction of the Expanded Revenue Assurance Solution (ERAS) to address revenue leakages and improve government revenue from the telecoms industry.”
“These initiatives also include Licensing of Satellite Earth Stations, issuing of operating licence to SpaceX Satellite, facilitating the landing of additional submarine Cables, such as the Google 2,000km Equiano subsea Internet cable in 2022, listing of MTN on the Nigerian bourse, licensing of Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs), introduction of new unlicensed millimeter wave spectrum, and regulation of white space spectrum,” Danbata said.
