Stakeholders Decry Increasing Idle Spectrum

Stakeholders in the country’s telecommunications sector have expressed concern over increasing number of idle spectrum in the sector and called on the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to address it, if Nigeria is to meet the 30 per cent broadband penetration target by 2018.

Idle spectrum are regulator’s licensed spectrum to operators which could not muster enough financial power to rollout service as well as those that rolled out but could not survive the market environment and had to close shop.

Nigeria CommunicationsWeek investigations revealed that idle spectrum in the sector is more than the one that are in use presently.

According to Gbenga Adebayo, chairman, Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria, (ALTON) ‘we had about 35 members of our association at inception, but today we are only 15 members’.

What this means is that some 20 operators with spectrum are no longer in operation and their spectrum are lying idle.

This is only on the side of telecommunications operators similar situation exists in internet service providers association of Nigeria (ISPAN), umbrella body of internet service providers in the country.

Engr. Lanre Ajayi, president, Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON), said that spectrum management has not been efficiently managed in the country which has given rise to high number of idle spectrum in the sector.

“It is the responsibility of NCC to address this issue by recovering those idle spectrums and re-assigning them to organizations that are ready to put it in use. There is condition of withdrawal if not in use for a period of time attached in the contractual agreement in the licensing agreement, what is lacking is the political will to enforce that aspect of the licensing conditions,” he said.

Ajayi however reinstated his earlier suggestion for the establishment of a spectrum secondary market to address the problem since it is difficult for owners of licensed spectrums to relinquish them.

“The concept of spectrum secondary market is a market where owners of idle spectrum can come and resale such spectrum to buyers that are ready to put it in use for the benefit of Nigerians. Spectrum to be offered for sale in that market should be spectrums bought from auctioned process. This has worked in some other countries and can work in Nigeria,” he added.

Engr. Sam Adeleke, chairman, immediate past president, Internet Service Providers Association of Nigeria (ISPAN) and chief executive officer Steineng Ltd, attributed the high number of telecommunications business failures that gave rise to abandon spectrum to those he called ‘Money bags’ that acquire telecom license.

He said that such people base their investment on friendship most times and not on sustainability factor which is why such businesses fail and the spectrum becomes idle.

He added that it will be difficult for NCC to withdraw such spectrum in order not to create fear among investors.

“A regulator should be seen as creating enabling environment for investment to thrive in the country otherwise investors will run away,” he noted.

It would be recalled that increasing demand for services such as mobile telephones and many others has required changes in the philosophy of spectrum management.

The former practice of discrete bands licensed to groups of similar services is giving way, in many countries, to a "spectrum auction" model that is intended to speed technological innovation and improve the efficiency of spectrum use.