The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has successfully conducted a simulated auction for the 3.5 gigahertz (GHz) spectrum auction that it will use to deploy the country’s Fifth Generation (5G) network. The mock auction took place at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel in Abuja on Friday, December 10, 2021, in preparation for today’s (December 13) main auction at the same venue.
The simulation was conducted per the conditions outlined in the Information Memorandum (IM) for the 3.5 GHz spectrum auction. The IM, which was previously published on the Commission’s website at the start of the auction process, documents the process for licensing the 3.5 GHz spectrum band.
The three eligible bidders for the 3.5 GHz spectrum, namely MTN Nigeria, Airtel Networks Ltd and Mafab Communications Ltd, participated in the software-based simulated auction exercise using the Ascending Clock Auction System.
Following the successful mock auction, the Commission set the stage to license two slots in the 3.5 GHz spectrum band. As a result, successful bidders are expected to be picked at the end of the Main Auction.
The auction will be a watershed moment in Nigeria’s quest to leverage the benefits of 5G for the country’s socio-economic development as the concrete 5G rollout commences in 2022.
During brief remarks at the Mock Auction, Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta, executive vice-chairman and chief executive officer of the NCC, said the Commission had taken all necessary steps to ensure due diligence of the consultants’ credibility and to safeguard the integrity of the solution used to carry out the implementation of this historic national assignment.
“This is consistent with the Commission’s prior open, credible, transparent, and fair bidding processes, which have been praised locally and internationally,” Danbatta said.
Aside from the electronic mock, the Commission also simulated the manual auction process to ensure a fail-safe method. The above mentioned is to ensure that bidders are familiar with the manual auction if any circumstances on the Main Auction Day necessitate switching to the Manual Auction. It is worth noting that the electronic and manual forms are both clearly stated in the IM and follow the same process.
