NCC Grants Telecom Licenses to 25 Companies
TECHDIGEST– The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has recently issued licenses to 25 companies to operate as Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs) within the country’s telecommunications industry.
An MVNO is a company that offers wireless communication services without owning the underlying network infrastructure. Instead, they utilize the existing infrastructure of established Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) such as MTN, 9mobile, Airtel, and Globacom.
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These newly licensed companies will provide services similar to traditional telecom providers, despite not having their own network infrastructure. The NCC has categorized the MVNO licenses into five tiers. Among the 25 companies, none have obtained a tier 1 license, and all have acquired licenses in tiers 2 to 5.
The cost of each MVNO license varies based on the tier classification. Tier 5 licenses, the highest tier, require a payment of ₦500 million ($1.1 million). Tier 4 licenses cost ₦200 million ($432,900). Both tier 3 and tier 4 licenses carry a fee of ₦130 million ($281,385) and ₦60 million ($131,063) respectively. The lowest tier, tier 1, has a license fee of ₦35 million ($75,757).
The NCC has collected approximately ₦5.9 billion ($12.7 million) in licensing fees from the 25 companies granted MVNO licenses. This move aims to promote competition and increase service offerings within the Nigerian telecommunications market while leveraging the existing network infrastructure of established MNOs.
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