The sale of the country’s 700MHz telecommunication spectrum for N34 billion to MTN Nigeria by the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) has set off a chain of reactions with the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) calling for a review of the sale, among others, reports Bukola Aroloye
Crux of the matter
NBC had in September sold 700 MHz spectrum to mobile telecommunication outfit, MTN for N34 billion. The NBC is being accused of failing to follow due process in the sale of the high valued spectrum to MTN Nigeria, as well as selling the band far below its true market value.
According to industry watchers, the N34 billion, which the spectrum was sold to MTN is considered a paltry amount as its true value is said to be in excess of N200 billion, even as it was alleged that Nigeria may have lost N162 billion because of the gross undervaluing of the spectrum.
The industry watchers further revealed that by law, the NBC as the only regulator for broadcasting companies is also responsible for assigning broadcast frequencies it receives from National Frequency Management Board, NFMB, for private and TV stations.
The only authority mandated under the Nigerian constitution to allocate spectrum to telephone carriers is the NCC, which is claiming not to be aware of the controversial N34 billion deals.
The Director-General of National Broadcasting Commission, Mr. Emeka Mba, had at that time clarified why NBC sold the spectrum to MTN.
He explained that the NBC needed money to finance the country’s Digital Switchover (DSO) project of migrating Nigeria from analogue television broadcasting to digital broadcasting by June 2017, hence the sale to MTN.
However, the Nigerian Communication Commission, NCC, claimed ignorance of the deal, stressing that the value at which the spectrum was sold was far below what it ought to have been sold.
The Nation learnt that the NBC is allegedly awash with reports of sharp practices, especially following the sale of the frequency spectrum for broadcast to the MTN.
NCC’s studied silence
Executive Vice Chairman, Professor Umar Dambatta, of the Nigeria Communication Commission, has informed that the NCC will not publicly engage NBC. While acknowledging the fact that there is an issue, he argues matter-of-factly that that approach may not be right.
“NCC will not publicly engage NBC, even though it is under a different ministry, because we don’t think it is the right approach. The Frequency Management Council, which is a very important organ of government that has a representation from the Federal Ministry of Science and Technology as well as the Communication Technology Ministry, will look into the matter,” Danbatta said in a statement released by the NCC.
“The Frequency Management Council, which is a very important organ of government that has a representation from the Federal Ministry of Science and Technology as well as the Communication Technology Ministry, will look into the matter,” he said.
Danbatta said the Commission was considering seeking new ways of moving MTN to the upper range of that frequency, which is not up to 700MHz.
“The upper range for broadcasting is 694MHz that will free the 700MHz spectrum for use to facilitate communication services. That is the approach we intend to adopt to resolve the matter and I have spoken with the NBC on this and they have expressed readiness to come to the Commission to talk about it so that we can together be able to fashion out a way forward that will be devoid of any acrimony or rancour which normal Nigerians are used to when issues of this nature come up,” Danbatta said.
Commenting on the NCC disapproval of the N34 billion MTN spectrum deal at a press conference, Chief Abel Danladi, one of the stakeholders, urged the Federal Government to ensure that the NBC complied with the spectrum policy on 700 mgHz and procurement guideline.
He said the NCC reaction to the N34 billion MTN-NBC deal provided additional indication of the undue influence and interference of the South African telecom and broadcast monopolists in the nation’s digital broadcast industry in order to acquire domineering leverage comparable to their ownership and control of the GSM and cable TV sector in Nigeria.
Danladi observed that the unfolding intransigence of the MTN over the brazen violation of the NCC policy on deactivation of pre-registered and unregistered lines which earned it a hefty fine necessitates national security concerns and measures to reserve the commanding heights of all strategic business operations for Nigerian investors.
Investigation by The Nation revealed that there had been silence at the telecoms regulator office over the sales of 700 megahertz spectrum by the broadcasting regulator.
But it was learnt that NCC was worried that the decision by NBC to monopolise the spectrum band would have negative implication in the telecoms sector.
Nigeria missed the transition in June last year, with the NBC citing lack of fund from the Federal Government as reason for its inability to join the countries that were able to effect the digital switch as stipulated by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU).
NBC’s defence
Reacting to the development, Emeka Mba, Director General of the NBC said the corporation actually got permission from the right authority before embarking on the transactions.
Mba, who said the 700MHz is for broadcast added that NBC does not advertise and the issue in contention” was given to the highest bidder after due process was taken.”
According to the NBC boss,”700MHZ is not telecoms spectrum. It’s still broadcast spectrum until after Digital Switch Over,” he said, adding that approval was sought and received to raise revenue to pursue DSO by licensing commercially a portion of the digital dividend spectrum for converged broadcast services.
Speaking in an in an interview in Lagos, Mba said in the long run, the Federal Government would also receive N100 billion income from spectrum sales.
He said: “When it became obvious that government could not spare the money, and in order to avoid missing another deadline, we began to consider other options. Our broadcast frequency, which is to eventually form part of the digital dividend after the Digital Switch-over (DSO), had portions of it laying fallow while our broadcasters were still using part of it.
“We, therefore, proposed and got proper permission from government to license part of our spectrum lying fallow and to use the proceeds to finance the DSO,” he stressed.
EFCC to the rescue
The Federal Government may review the 700MHz spectrum license sale following the ongoing probe into the activities of the NBC.
As a sign of things to come, Mba was arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for allegedly operating a secret account into which about N17billion out of N34bn paid by MTN Nigeria for the 700MHz license was kept.
Part of the reasons for his arrest was a petition written by some aggrieved broadcast and telecoms industries players to EFCC alleging that Mba contravened due process in the spectrum sale to MTN, according to a source.
Already, the Frequency Management Council (FMC) is reviewing the spectrum sale and the ongoing probe of NBC may provide the ground for its cancellation, the source, who is a top government official.
The FMC which has a representation from the ministries of science and technology and communication was said to have given NBC the nod to sale the spectrum to MTN during twilight of Goodluck Jonathan administration.
But some telecoms and broadcast firms who felt the deal was not transparent later kicked against the sale when the President Muhammadu Buhari administration came on board.
Many troubles for NCC
Just as the dust over the sale of the spectrum is yet to settle, a communication company, Pinnacle Communications Limited, has dragged the NBC and five other defendants before a Federal High Court in Abuja for issuing the same license it claimed to have won to a foreign competitor.
In the suit marked, FHC/ABJ/2014 the plaintiff named the NBC, Mba, Attorney General of the Federation, AGF; MTS Communications; Details Nigeria Limited and NTA-Star Network Ltd as first to sixth defendants.
The firm’s counsel, Joseph Daudu (SAN) complained that after the plaintiff won the sole bid for the distribution of broadcast signals, the NBC allegedly issued licences to other companies in that regard.
According to Daudu, “Pinnacle had been given a licenses and the license has been compromised by the NBC who issued multiple licenses, thereby making the licence to Pinnacle unprofitable.
“The court is to decide whether the action of the NBC is right or wrong. We have an injunction to stop the NBC from going forward with issuing license to other companies.’’
