The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) will hold a public inquiry on an application by Visafone Communications to transfer its licence and resources, including spectrum in the 800MHz band, to MTN Nigeria, according to TeleGeography’s GlobalComms Database.
Interested stakeholders have been invited to make written submissions on the matter and participate in the public inquiry, which will be held on 25 June.
In December 2015 MTN completed the acquisition of Visafone Communications for $219 million, with a view to utilising Visafone’s 2×10MHz of 800MHz spectrum to roll out 4G LTE services. Later in 2016, however, the NCC questioned whether the 800MHz frequencies should be included in MTN’s takeover of Visafone, as it would increase the market leader’s dominance.
In October 2016 the NCC approved a request by Visafone to transfer 100% of its shares and subscriber base to MTN, although an application to transfer its spectrum licence to the market leader remains pending.
