Nigeria’s telecommunications regulator, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), has been ordered to cancel the recent WiMAX licenses and rerun the tender process. The decision came from the President’s office following several months of controversy over how the licenses were awarded.

“In furtherance of the Federal Government’s desire to assure all prospective investors of its commitment to the observance of due process and a level playing field, President Yar’Adua today directed that the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) should initiate a fresh process for the award of the 2.3 GHz spectrum band licences,” the presidential adviser said.

While the NCC said the earlier tender process had been open and fair, this was disputed by the Minister of Information and Communication, Professor Dora Akunyili. She had accused the NCC of also imposing unreasonably short timeframes for the payment of license fees.

The three previous winners, Multi-Links, Mobitel Nigeria, and Spectranet are expected to get a refund of their license fees and be eligible to enter the next round of license tendering.

Read more about Telecommunications in Nigeria

Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) | Multi-Links | Spectranet

Source(s): Cellular News