NCC publishes guidelines on IM for 3.5GHZ spectrum band auction

Thu, Nov 4, 2021
By editor
3 MIN READ

Science & Tech

By Anthony Isibor.

THE Nigerian Communications Commission in the exercise of its functions under the Nigerian Communications Act 2003, Act, has published the Draft Information Memorandum, IM, for its upcoming auction of the 3.5GHz spectrum band as part of its 5G Technology Deployment Plan.

According to O. Y. Asaju, FNSE director, spectrum administration, DSA department, Nigerian Communications Commission, who spoke on Thursday, November 4, 2021, the IM provides guidance and process that the Commission has decided to adopt for the licensing of the 3.5 GHz band, including details of the Spectrum to be made available, the prequalification process and the Auction process.

He said that “Five lots of 100 MHz each TDD are to be cleared at different periods depending on the level of encumbrances on the slots.

“For the purpose of this auction, two lots of 100 MHz each are to be offered in the first phase of the auction.

“Available Lots for auctioning are Lot I with a Frequency Range of 3500MHz – 3600MHz, and a Bandwidth of 100MHz, and slot 2 a Frequency Range of 3700 MHz – 3800 MHz, and a bandwidth of 100MHz.

“Auction Process to be adopted is the ascending Clock Auction with a software-based auction.

“Provision was also made for manual auction should the auction software fail during the auction process.

The statement by the NCC also noted that a Mock auction shall precede the main Auction.

“A reserve price of approximately ₦75 billion (Seventy-Five Billion Naira only), equivalent to One Hundred and Ninety-Seven Million and Four Hundred Thousand United States Dollars only (US$197,400,000.00) is to be used.

“An Initial Bid Deposit, IBD, equal to 10% of the reserve price is adopted in line with the previous auction.

“New entrants are allowed to participate in the auction in addition to existing licensees; and only Licensees with 100% regulatory compliance would be allowed to participate in the Auction.

“Licensees with outstanding debts that have secured management’s approval for a payment plan will be allowed to participate,’’ the statement said.

“The auction comes with a 10-year Spectrum Licence and a minimum requirement of a UASL Operational Licence, however, new entrants or Licensees without a UASL will be required to additionally obtain a UASL Operational Licence.

Network Operators would be required to: Meet all Auction conditions as specified in the IM, and carry out Periodic Penetration Testing, and Vulnerability Scan of their Networks to ensure the security of the systems.

The roll out obligations proposed are in three phases starting from the effective date of the licence.

The year 1 and 2 Rollout service is in at least one state in each geo-political zone: SW, SS, SE, NC, NW and NE zones, including the FCT,

Year 3 to 5 will include additional 6 States other than those in Year 1 to 2, across the six geo-political zones.

In Year 6 to 10, operators are encouraged to roll out across all other States.

“Service roll out in each state would mean a minimum of 5 sites in a state.

“Minimum Download speed of 100 Mbps is to be achieved by the operators and shall be measured using applicable measurement tools.

The IM also includes a Risk Management Framework for 5G, which shall be developed in due course.

NOV. 04, 2021 @ 17:56  GMT |

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