Airtel Africa Pays $316.7m To Acquire 4G, 5G In Nigeria

Airtel Africa revealed it spent $316.7 million on 4G and 5G spectrum as part of wider plans to bolster connectivity in Nigeria.

Recall that Airtel Nigeria Limited emerged the sole bidder in the second round of licensing for the deployment of 5G technology.

The Nigerian Communications Commission(NCC) revealed that Airtel applied for the 3.5GHz spectrum alongside Standard Network and Connections Limited, but only Airtel made the initial payment required.

In a statement, the company detailed that, it acquired 100MHz in the 3,500MHz band and two blocks of 5MHz in the 2,600MHz band, from NCC for a gross consideration of $316.7million, payable in local currency.

The additional spectrum will support network expansion for both mobile data and fixed wireless broadband capability, including 5G rollout and capacity to accommodate data growth in Nigeria.

The 5G spectrum will underpin its growth strategy by providing customers with higher connectivity speeds and accelerating digitalisation for the public and private sectors.

Airtel Africa CEO, Segun Ogunsanya said: “Nigeria is a market with enormous potential for future growth in mobile services. Investment in new technologies and local infrastructure to enable this growth is a strategic priority for the Group and will ensure we are able to provide reliable and affordable services to local communities across the country.

“5G is critical to these ambitions, and we look forward to launching new services to drive further digitalisation across the country, facilitate economic progress and transform lives across Nigeria.”