Nigeria gears up to auction 2.5GHz spectrum

By Segun Oruame

Nigeria is gearing to auction the 2.5GHz spectrum band to enable operators deploy infrastructure for broadband services, said the country’s regulator and chief executive  officer of the Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC) Ernest Ndukwe.

“It is our intention to issue spectrum licences in that band because that is the band that is earmarked for broadband infrastructure. What is holding us back at the moment is that  some of the spectrum is occupied at the moment by some other services that is involved with  the [Nigeria] Broadcasting Commission (NBC) and there is a discussion now about freeing the spectrum in other to enable us license them, and we have gone quite far, we have received a lot of cooperation from the NBC. We think that very soon when those frequencies get free up,  we will be able to offer them to operators that roll out broadband infrastructure,” said Ndukwe in Abuja.

Many operators in Nigeria’s fiery telecom market of 50 million subscribers and less than five million Internet users are eying the 2.5GHz spectrum band to enable faster rollout of broadband Internet and mobile services in what could tilt the stake against existing incumbents.

The market is currently dominated by GSM telcos. MTN leads with 16 million subscribers trailed by Globacom with 15 million and Celtel with 14 million. The rest of the market is shared by a mix of landline and CDMA mobile operators with the biggest CDMA operator Starcomms having one million subscribers.

“This spectrum would allow for easy deployment of WIMAX. There is no limit to what you can do with WIMAX. It opens several possibilities within the new generation of technology, the range of LTE - Long Term Evolution technology. You are talking of more extensive and wider deployment of services ranging from mobile voice, mobile video and data at more affordable rates,” said Lanre Ajayi, CEO of Lagos based Pinet Informatics and President of Nigeria Internet Group (NIG). The NIG is an all stakeholders’ organization with membership drawn  from the public and private sectors charged with ensuring Internet diffusion in Nigeria.

“The market profile could easily change depending on who deploys first, fast and is more responsive to market needs. Market leadership is as much of technology edge as it is of financial edge and management edge,” said Titi Omo-Ettu, Lagos based telecom analyst and chief consultant at Telecom Answers Associates.

Nigeria would be taking a cue from other countries in Europe and Asia where regulatory  authorities have gone ahead to issue the spectrum for mobile and other services as the  industry standardised on equipment terminals to enable roaming between countries for users  in the same manner that GSM users could roam from country to country.

“The beauty of the entire process is standardization. Same terminal would mean optimized experience for users across different territories as well as operators deploying network for service,” said Bayo Banjo chief executive officer of Disc Communications, a landline operator in Lagos that is already seeking to explore mobile technology on the 2.5GHz spectrum band. Disc

Nigeria’s WiMAX license holders include Lagos based Hyperia, one of the country’s oldest Internet service providers and Monarch Communications. Both providers are licensed to deploy services in more than half of Nigeria’s 36 states including the Federal Capital Territory,  Abuja. WIMAX is currently being deployed in the less dynamic 3.5 GHz band. Rollout speed has been slow and service pricey making it to gain than was low market acceptance.

With the regulator fine-tuning plans for a 2.5GHz spectrum band auction, analysts say the market is entering its next phase of boom hinged on a WIMAX blanket.

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