NCC lifts suspension on spectrum trading pending guidelines

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has lifted the suspension on spectrum trading, pending the conclusion of an ongoing review of its guidelines.

The decision to lift the suspension was reached following deliberations by the board of NCC at its Special Board Meeting.

The statement entitled ‘NCC lifts suspension on spectrum trading guidelines’ the NCC said the STG had earlier been suspended by the board at its 96th board meeting held on May 18, 2020.

“The board was satisfied that given the state of the consultation, it was possible to lift the suspension of the STG pending the conclusion of the review,” the statement signed by NCC’s Director of Public Affairs, Dr Ikechukwu Adinde, said.

“Accordingly, the board resolved that the suspension of the STG be lifted and that relevant stakeholders continue to operate the STG while a new/revised STG is finalised in consultation with the industry,” it added.

The commission had, in a statement issued on May 27, 2020, announced the suspension of STG 2018 for the Nigerian telecommunications industry and informed all licensed telecoms operators, prospective investors, industry stakeholders and the general public of the regulatory decision.

The board of the NCC said the decision was taken in response to telecommunications global dynamics, as well as the efforts to optimally utilise and maximise the benefits of spectrum as a scarce resource.

Spectrum is a limited resource, which, when inefficiently utilised, greatly limits broadband coverage and speed.

The current STG was developed in 2018 after industry-wide consultations and the instrument allows that the spectrum be traded on the secondary market through transfer, sharing or leasing upon satisfying stipulated regulatory conditions.

According to the commission, the Nigerian National Broadband Plan 2020-2025, launched by in March 2020, recommended that the guidelines be reviewed to ensure that unutilised spectrum is fairly traded to facilitate rollout by other operators, among others.

The revised guidelines will also help to address the need for ubiquitous broadband deployment to accelerate penetration and access in line with the economic agenda of the Federal Government.