MTN would gain fresh radio capacity if the Nigerian Communications Commission approves a proposed transfer of licence blocks from Mafab Communications. Mafab has offered its 2×20 MHz holding in the 2.1 GHz band and a 100 MHz block in the 3.5 GHz range to MTN Nigeria, licences that form part of a 10-year award issued in 2022 and running until 2032. The company has not fully deployed those frequencies over the past four years.
The arrangement would involve a payment from MTN to Mafab, although the parties have not disclosed any price. Public figures tied to the 2021 auction are sometimes cited in the discussion, but the $273.6m sum refers to what each winning bidder paid at that contest by the February 2022 deadline, not the value of any proposed transfer. At that time MTN separately paid $15.9 million to secure its preferred 3500-3600 MHz block, while Mafab was assigned the 3700-3800 MHz block without an assignment-stage charge.
Regulators treat spectrum as a public asset, and the NCC must consider and approve any assignment or transfer and its commercial terms. That decision will also determine how Mafab’s outstanding rollout obligations are addressed and whether the transfer proceeds. The regulator has recently emphasised returning dormant spectrum to active use, a policy context that frames this proposal.
Mafab’s route since the auction has moved from an unexpected entrant to a company seeking to monetise unused radio assets. Incorporated in July 2020 and controlled by Musbahu Muhammad Bashir, chairman of Abuja’s Althani Group, Mafab launched 5G services but encountered delays related to its Unified Access Service Licence and numbering plan, prompting the NCC to grant an extension to its rollout deadline.
For MTN, taking on Mafab’s 2×20 MHz at 2.1 GHz could relieve congestion on mobile networks, while the 100 MHz in the 3.5 GHz band is valuable for high-capacity 5G deployments. Placing those blocks with an operator that already has nationwide infrastructure would concentrate spectrum with an incumbent and alter the competitive balance the 2021 auction sought to create by introducing a new player into Nigeria’s 5G market. The next step is the NCC’s assessment and any final terms that result from its approval process.
