“Airtel Nigeria is owned by the Indian multinational telecoms giant, Bharti Airtel, which was founded in 1984 by Sunil Mittal as an operation assembling push-button phones imported from Singapore. Bharti Airtel now operates in 18 countries, including 14 African countries. The founder, Mittal, is estimated by Bloomberg Billionaire Index to be worth $12.2 billion.”
Airtel Africa Plc on the 9th of January announced in a press release that it has finally acquired the 5G spectrum. The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) had announced that it was going to auction two new 5G licenses.
The press release which was signed by the Group Company Secretary of Airtel Africa Plc, Simon O’Hara stated,
“Airtel Networks Limited (‘Airtel Nigeria’), has purchased 100 MHz of spectrum in the 3500MHz band and 2x5MHz of 2600MHz from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) for a gross consideration of $316.7m, payable in local currency.”
The Background
Nigeria is one of the first African countries to roll out a plan for the adoption of the 5G technology after its introduction in 2020. In December 2021, the first two 5G spectrum bands were acquired by MTN NG Limited and Mafab Communications Limited in a keenly-contested auction conducted by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC). Only MTN, Airtel, and Mafab communication had qualified for the final stage of the auction. However, Airtel was outbid by MTN and Mafab Communication, and the spectrums were sold off for $273 million each.
Also Read: No Plan to Deploy 5G Technology Yet – NCC
After acquiring the spectrum, MTN has gone on to launch its 5G network 7cities-Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, Ibadan, Kano, Owerri, and Maiduguri. MTN users can now access the 5G network by either using the MTN 5G router or by using 5G compatible phones.
In October 2022, another auction was announced for two new 3.5 GHz 5G spectrums. However, by December 2022, NCC announced that there would be no auction as only two companies had indicated an interest in the auction. In the end, only Airtel paid the required intention-to-bid deposit and Airtel subsequently was announced as the sole bidder.
Plan to Roll Out Fixed Wireless Access Products across Nigeria
The CEO of Airtel Africa Plc, Segun Ogunsanya, commented on the acquisition of 5G Spectrum:
“Nigeria is a market with enormous potential for future growth in mobile services. Investment in new technologies and local infrastructure to enable this growth is a strategic priority for the Group and will ensure we are able to provide reliable and affordable services to local communities across the country. 5G is critical to these ambitions, and we look forward to launching new services to drive further digitalisation across the country, facilitate economic progress and transform lives across Nigeria.”
Airtel Nigeria is owned by the Indian multinational telecoms giant, Bharti Airtel, which was founded in 1984 by Sunil Mittal as an operation assembling push-button phones imported from Singapore. Bharti Airtel now operates in 18 countries, including 14 African countries. The founder, Mittal, is estimated by Bloomberg Billionaire Index to be worth $12.2 billion.
Airtel Nigeria, Bharti Airtel’s largest operation, has 26.8% share of the Nigerian mobile telephone market and 55 million subscribers, putting it slightly behind Globacom.
The acquisition of the 5G spectrum by Airtel Nigeria will help the company launch higher-speed connectivity, a crucial growth strategy. Airtel will also be able to accelerate the availability and efficiency of fixed wireless access products across Nigeria with the deployment of 5G spectrum.
Airtel noted in its press release that it “led the industry in providing affordable 4G services across the country following the deployment of a fully modernised network which facilitated a 4-fold increase in data traffic over the last three years.”
