The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) on Wednesday said it would on May 5 auction 14 slots of the 2.6GHz frequency for broadband communication services across the country.
At a press briefing in Abuja, the regulatory agency said the frequency auction would be on national basis. This means that the NCC has abandoned its former plan to issue the licences on regional basis.
Each slot of the frequency is made up of a pair of 5MHz. This means that the 14 slots that are up for sale contain 70MHz pairs.
The NCC Director of Spectrum Administration, Mr. Austin Nwaulune, and Director of Public Affairs, Mr. Tony Ojobo, announced that the reserve price for each slot of the frequency had been set at $16m.
Nwaulune also announced a deadline of April 21 for the prospective applicants to submit their Expressions of Interest to bid for the spectrum.
If the 14 slots of frequency are sold at the reserved price of $16m per slot, the Federal Government will rake in a total of $224m. However, the auction price can go up depending on the number of applicants and their thirst for the spectrum.
