The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has confirmed the issuance of the final letters of award of the Fifth Generation (5G) Spectrum Licences to MTN and Mafab Communications, winners of the 3.5GHz spectrum auction conducted by the Commission on Monday, December 13, 2021.
Management of the Commission led by its Executive Vice Chairman (EVC), Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta confirmed this to the Board of Commissioners at the Board’s Special Meeting, which took place on Wednesday, April 20 and Thursday, April 21, 2022, where the Board considered updates from Management on the status of the spectrum auction.
With the issuance of the final letters of award of the 5G spectrum and in line with the Auction’s Information Memorandum (IM), the two licensees are now expected to accelerate the deployment of the 5G network that will usher Nigeria into a more robust Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) and a more digitised economy.
In line with the terms and conditions of the 5G license, the licensees are expected to commence rolling out 5G services effective from August 24, 2022.
The 5G network, when deployed, will bring a lot of benefits and opportunities that will engender accelerated growth and smart living in the country. The technology is also expected to bring substantial network improvements, including higher connection speed, mobility and capacity, as well as low-latency capabilities.
The Commission is optimistic that effective implementation of the National Policy on 5G will accelerate the actualisation of the national targets in the Nigerian National Broadband Plan (NNBP) 2020-2025, the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS) 2020-2030, as well as other sectoral policies designed to enhance Nigeria’s digital transformation.
Credit: dailypost.ng
