The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has put up another two slots of spectrum in the 3.5GHz Spectrum band for auction before end of 2022, to boost deployment of Fifth Generation (5G) services in the country.
The process was made public on 21 October, 2022 with the publication of the Draft Information Memorandum (IM) for the auction on the NCC website.
The NCC had invited stakeholders to study the Memorandum for purposes of making submissions ahead of a review of the IM on 16 November, 2022.
As stated in a release by the NCC Director, Public Affairs, Reuben Muoka, the final IM is slated for publication on 18 December, 2022, while applications will be received by the NCC from 21 November, 2022.
“The closing date for the submission of application, the deadline for payment of mandatory Intention-To-Bid Deposit (IBD), and the Pre-Qualification Stage is set for 5 December 2022.
“Qualified bidders would be notified on 5 December, 2022 while notification and publication of the Mock Auction and Auction date will occur on the same day.
“The Mock Action is billed for 16 December, 2022, just as the auction proper takes place three days later, on 19 December, 2022.
“The process is anticipated to enter its grant stage on 21 December, 2022 with the publication of provisional bid winners and the notification of provisional award of licence,” it was stated in the release.
It was also disclosed that Year 2023 will open with the payment for Spectrum Licence and Operational Licence, where applicable, on 20 January, 2023, while the auction process will be concluded with the publication of the result on the 23rd of January 2023.
According to the Information Memorandum, pursuant to the issuance of the IM, the NCC reserves the right to make available additional information through the publication of further documentation.
“Therefore, interested parties are advised to stay abreast with developments in the licensing process by checking regularly for updates on the Commission’s website,” Muoka added in the release.
