Danbatta disclosed this when he spoke to a cross section of
industry players in Lagos, South-West,
Nigeria during the Stakeholders’ Consultative Forum on the Draft Information
Memorandum for the 3.5GHz Spectrum Auction hosted by the Commission.
In a statement by the Director Public Affairs, Reuben Muoka,
the NCC Boss said there is need for stakeholders to understand the genuine
vision of the Commission to equip the nation with the latest technologies and
services which is the focus of the efforts to deploy 5G services nationwide.
“I want to disabuse the mind of those who feel that the
objective of the NCC to auction the first and the second rounds of the 5G
spectrum bands is to generate money for the Federal Government. This is not
correct. The overriding consideration is not to generate money for the Federal
Government but principally to ensure deployment of 5G services that enhance
better life for Nigerians and the growth of the nation’s economy as a whole
through provision of qualitative high-speed Internet services that
increases productivity and efficiency
across sectors”, Danbatta said.
He further said that “For those who are conversant with
developments in the industry, the proactive regulatory approach of the
Commission in transiting Nigeria from 1G, to 2G, 3G, 4G and now to 5G has
brought remarkable socio-economic developments, transforming lives and
businesses.
“This clarification is very important at this stage to put
to rest the insinuations and misconceptions being bandied in certain quarters.
Our intent is purely to digitally transform Nigeria and Nigerians towards
becoming a leading digital economy not only in Africa but globally and where
telecoms continue to be a major enabler and contributor to the nation’s
economic growth,” the EVC stressed.
The NCC Boss explained the rationale behind the need to
conduct an auction on the second round of the 5G spectrum sale.
According to Danbatta, following the successful auction of
the initial two lots of the 5G spectrum in December 2021, the Commission had
received requests to administratively licence the remaining lots at the exact
fee the initial two lots were auctioned.
However, the Commission, in exercise of its powers under the
Nigerian Communications Act 2003, has decided to licence the available lots in
the 3.5GHz band through the Auction Method which is a transparent and efficient
approach that can open opportunities for new entrants as well as deepen
competition in the industry.
“The Commission has committed enormous resources to ensure
that harmonized Spectrum is secured and released in a timely manner for present
and future rollout of services that will unleash the potentials of the Fourth
Industrial Revolution (4IR), including International Mobile Telecommunication
(IMT-2020) services. We have kept ourselves abreast of developments at
international fora, including ITU-R Study Groups to enable the allocation of
strategic Spectrum to IMT services especially the IMT-2020 which has been on
the front burner in the last two ITU-R Study Cycles”, he explained.
He added that “It is important that we ensure the timely
release of the Spectrum bands necessary for 5G deployment to the industry to
enable us reap the immediate and envisioned benefits of 5G technology and
facilitate the development of Nigeria’s Digital Economy to foster national
growth,” he said.
Representatives of telecoms companies, media and other
stakeholders made additional inputs into the Draft IM in addition to the
comments and inputs already received via correspondence before the forum
commenced.
The NCC’s Executive Commissioner Technical Services, Ubale Maska, who is also the Auction Adviser, also reminded stakeholders at the forum that the Commission will still take comments up to close of business on 17th November 2022 just before the final IM that will guide the auction process is published on 18th November 2022.
Recalled that the Commission developed a draft Information
Memorandum (IM) for the Auction of the 3.5GHz band which has been published on
its website on 21st October 2022, to enable stakeholders review and make inputs
and comments.
The forum was to deliberate on the draft document and take
contributions from stakeholders to enrich the quality of the document for
auction process and towards the efficient management and utilization of this
important spectrum resource in line with global best practices.