Players in the telecommunications industry have tabled their positions hoping to influence the Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC) in the sale frequencies in the 2.6GHz Spectrum.
Arguments swung left and right but majorly for the maintenance of the present pattern of national licensing.
Another handful called for a regional licensing approach that will create room for more players and improved deployment phase.
Speaking at the Forum, Engineer Peter Igoh, chairman, Nigerian Communications Commission said that, the transparent way in which the Commission had conduct its licensing processes, including auctions, have been globally recognized.
He said, the Forum was part of NCC’s consultative disposition in which it strive to ensure inclusiveness in its decision-making processes, fairness and openness in dealings, and predictability in the nation’s telecom regulatory atmosphere.
On his part, Engineer Austin Nwaulune, director, Spectrum Administration at NCC, also said that the Commission has 2 x 70 MHz Slot in the 2.6GHz Band up for sale.
He said they were determined to put it up for the most qualified organizations to utilize them for the benefit of the nation.
Listing issues involved in the process such as the possibility of introducing spectrum caps, licensing options, tenures, roll out obligations and some key issues that the Commission’s auction committee may have put up for consideration, Nwaulune said the Commission’s transparent disposition in the ways and manners in which the auction will be conducted is not negotiable.
Engineer Lanre Ajayi, president, Association of Telecommunication Companies of Nigeria (ATCON), applauded the sense of seeking stakeholders’ views on the process but sought to know why close to 30 companies expressed interest during the sale of 2.3GHz band earlier in the year, but only two went ahead to bid.
He urged NCC to review the process, create changes for business viability.
According to him, most organizations might become skeptical about the bidding should NCC fail to declare its intentions on time, citing the sale of 2.6GHz few months after the 2.3GHz as unpalatable for ventures.
On the Modalities licencing model, Ajayi said he believes in Spectrum Trading, where a company with either a National or a Regional Licence can have the leverage of selling the same to another company without been queried by the NCC.
Nwaulune swiftly explained that spectrum trading might be unfavourable for the industry, as some companies could arm-twist others to get the licence, whereas the end-users bear the blunt.
But, Engineer Bayo Banjo, president, Nigeria Internet Group (NIG), has a different view, saying that the industry should learn from past experience that allocation of licences on National bases has not alleviated the broadband penetration challenges.
According to him, National frequency allocation has caused more harms than good, creating hiccups for organizations during deployment and recouping of investments hard to attain.
He opined that such practice can become viable if the bidders and eventual winners are meant to sign agreement to cover the 36 States and the FCT, and no redundancy in spectrum utilization in any of the States.
Nodding in agreement, Chidi Ibisi, chief marketing officer, Broadbased Communications, said that Regionalization of the licencing is the way forward, hence it will boost chances of local companies participation and help in building Companies, which has been the primary focus of Dr. (Mrs) Omobola Johnson, led Ministry of Communication Technology.
On his part, Mr. Aremu Olajide, head of Network Operations, Globacom, said that NCC should work towards ensuring that organizations with pedigree in spectrum administration are given opportunity to manage the scarce resources for the best interest of the nation’s broadband availability and affordability plans.
He urged NCC not to depart from the objectives of these programmes centered on deepening competition and improve broadband penetration in the Country.
Meanwhile, Igoh said that the Commission has commenced the processes for the selection of Infrastructure Companies for Lagos and North Central Region in line with the Open Access Model that was launched in 2014.
In due course, qualified companies will be selected in that process to give impetus to the drive to achieve robust deployment and service provisioning for broadband services across the country.