A $273.6 million licence, five years of silence
TechCabal reported on 18 September 2026 that Mafab Communications is seeking Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) approval to transfer its 2×20 MHz of 2.1 GHz spectrum and its 100 MHz block in the 3.5 GHz band to MTN Nigeria. The transaction is still awaiting regulatory approval. Mafab paid $273.6 million for that block in the 2021 auction. According to TechCabal's sources, the deal belongs to a wider NCC effort to move scarce spectrum to operators who will use it: "It's a bigger clean-up than Mafab."
The NCC's own record of the auction is clear. On 13 December 2021, after 11 bidding rounds over eight hours, Mafab and MTN won the two 100 MHz lots at $273.6 million each. MTN took 3500–3600 MHz and Mafab took 3700–3800 MHz. Airtel, which had also qualified, dropped out with an exit bid of $270 million.
The result was uneven. According to ThisDay, MTN launched 5G in September 2022 and Airtel followed in June 2023. Mafab claimed a January 2023 launch, but ThisDay reports that its network was reportedly non-functional and that it kept its spectrum "redundant for five years." Nigeria's first 5G auction was meant to produce two 5G networks, and it produced one.
The case for tougher intervention
The strongest argument for a heavier regulatory hand is simple. Spectrum is a public resource, and licensees pay for the right to use it, not to warehouse it. A winner who sits on a prime mid-band block denies consumers and rival operators the benefit. Regulators in many countries use rollout obligations and revocation to prevent this, and some Nigerian observers would like the NCC to reclaim idle bands outright and re-auction them.
That argument has real force, but it overlooks what the Mafab case shows. Revocation is slow, litigable and unpredictable. A licensee who paid $273.6 million has strong incentives to fight a clawback in court, and every dispute leaves the spectrum idle for longer. Investors also read revocation as a signal about how safe the next auction is.
Why trading is the better tool
The NCC already has the instrument it needs. Its Spectrum Trading Guidelines, which the regulator's site lists in a 2022 edition, let licensees transfer, share or lease spectrum on a secondary market, subject to NCC approval. Law firm Aluko & Oyebode records that the NCC suspended an earlier 2018 version in May 2020 for review and then lifted the suspension so that trading could resume while the review continued.
A trade puts spectrum in the hands of the operator that values it most, and it does so without litigation. Mafab recovers value, MTN gets capacity it can deploy, and consumers get 5G coverage sooner. The precedents suggest the market is starting to work. According to TechCabal, Megatech Engineering has already transferred its 2.6 GHz licence to Globacom in a deal valued at more than ₦20 billion. NatCom Development, which trades as ntel, leases 900 MHz and 1800 MHz spectrum to MTN through NCC-approved arrangements that are now under review.
This is proportionate regulation in practice. The regulator sets the rules and approves the trades, but it does not need to take the spectrum back to get it used.
Where the risks are
A pro-trading stance does not mean approving every deal. There are three things the NCC should get right.
- Concentration. MTN would hold both its own 3500–3600 MHz block and Mafab's 3.5 GHz block, plus more 2.1 GHz spectrum. Nigeria's mid-band is limited, and one operator holding a large share can crowd out rivals. The NCC should assess the deal against a published competition test, including whether Airtel and Globacom can still get mid-band capacity. Airtel lost the 2021 auction by a narrow margin, so the question is a fair one.
- Transparency. The reporting so far relies on unnamed sources, and the NCC and MTN had not responded to media enquiries when ThisDay published. Announcing the decision and its reasoning would reduce speculation and give other licensees clear signals about what will be approved.
- Use-it obligations. If trading is the preferred route, buyers should carry rollout commitments for the spectrum they acquire, so that consolidation leads to deployment instead of a new stockpile.
What good looks like
The Mafab transaction is a test of whether Nigeria's secondary market can correct a failed auction outcome without a court fight. If the NCC approves it quickly, publishes its reasoning and attaches deployment conditions, it will show other idle licence holders that selling is a better option than sitting. If approval stalls or the terms stay confidential, holders of unused spectrum will have less reason to trade, and idle bands will stay idle.
The wider clean-up should follow the same approach. Review the ntel leases on a published timeline, set clear standards for what counts as underused, and use trading first and enforcement second. That serves consumers, protects the licence-fee investments that fund the sector, and avoids the disputes that make future auctions less attractive.