Mafab Communications and MTN Nigeria have been announced as the two winning bidders in Nigeria’s 3.5GHz spectrum auction, with each spending US$273.6 million to obtain a holding.
Earlier this month, the two operators qualified to bid in the auctions alongside rival Airtel Nigeria. Following eleven rounds of bidding, the Nigerian Communications Commission announced that MTN and Mafab each acquired 100MHz lot of TDD spectrum, while Airtel pulled out of the bidding after its rivals' bids crested US$270m.
CommsUpdate reports that the winning bidders must each pay for their holdings by 24th February 2022. MTN was able to select a holding in the 3500MHz-3600MHz band, while Mafab was allocated the 3700MHz-3800MHz holding.
