MTN Rents Two Spectrums From NTEL to Widen Broadband Services in Nigeria

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) granted MTN Nigeria approval to rent two spectrums, from the Natcom Development and Investment Limited (NTEL), for N4.25 billion, as it plans to widen broadband services in the country.

The transaction which includes taxes, regulatory fees, and ancillary charges, and covers 19 states in the country, is effective from the 1st of May 2023.

Also, MTN paid the sum of N58.66 billion to the NCC to renew its existing 2100MHZ spectrum license for a period of 15 years which is effective from the 1st of May 2022 to the 30th of April 2037. The renewal would also enable MTN to provide 3G network coverage, with the license having expired last year.

Speaking on its access to the NTEL spectrum, the CEO of MTN Nigeria Karl Toriola said,

“This is a significant milestone in delivering our Ambition 2025 strategy. The access to NTEL’S 90OMHz and 1800MHz spectrums broadens our spectrum holdings and improves our 3G and 4G user experience as coverage and capacity will be enhanced by utilizing these spectrums”.

With this strategic move made, MTN is looking to reposition itself, accelerate growth, and unlock the value of its infrastructure, assets, and platforms, through its new strategic plan dubbed ‘Ambition 2025’.

Investors King understands that MTN’s Ambition 2025, is anchored in building the largest and most valuable platform business with a clear focus on Africa. This will rest on a scale connectivity and infrastructure business, making use of both mobile and fixed access networks across the consumer, enterprise, and wholesale segments.

Through Ambition 2025, MTN aims to drive efficiencies and performance while reducing network complexity in order to better manage network operations and deliver digital services to meet the evolving demands of customers. Some of the next-generation services that MTN plans to deliver include fintech solutions, the network as a service (NaaS), and an API marketplace.