NCC suspends Spectrum Trading Guidelines 2018. What this means for the telecom industry

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has suspended the Spectrum Trading Guidelines 2018 for the Nigerian telecommunications industry.

The Director of Public Affairs, NCC, Dr. Henry Nkemadu, who disclosed this in a statement on Wednesday in Abuja, said the commission’s Board of Commissioners took the decision at the end of a meeting in Abuja.

He said the board had informed licensed telecommunications operators, prospective investors, industry stakeholders, and the general public about the development.

According to him, the board had earlier taken the decision for Spectrum Trading in response to telecommunications global dynamics as well as the efforts to optimally utilize and maximize the benefits of the Spectrum scarce resource.

Nkemadu explained that Spectrum was a scarce commodity, which when inefficiently utilized greatly limited broadband coverage and speeds.

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He said: “The current Spectrum Trading Guidelines were developed in 2018 after industry-wide consultations.

“This instrument allows that the Spectrum resource be traded on the Secondary Market through Transfer, Sharing or Leasing upon satisfying stipulated regulatory conditions.

“The Nigerian National Broadband Plan (NNBP), 2020 – 2025, launched by President Muhammadu Buhari, in Abuja in March 2020 requires that these Guidelines be reviewed.

“This was to ensure that unutilized Spectrum is fairly traded and to facilitate rollout by other operators amongst others.

“This is to address the need for ubiquitous broadband deployment to accelerate penetration and access in line with the economic agenda of the Federal Government.”

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