INDICATIONS emerged yesterday that Mafab Communications, a Nigerian telecommunications firm backed by businessman Musbahu Muhammad Bashir, is seeking regulatory approval to transfer key spectrum assets to MTN Nigeria.

The potential deal threatens to reshape the competitive landscape of the nation’s 5G market.
It will be recalled that Mafab, alongside MTN were both the pioneer 5G licensees in Nigeria. Mafab Communications won its 5G spectrum auction on December 13, 2021, and formally received the physical license on February 22, 2022, after completing its $273.6 million payment to the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC). Same with MTN, which later paid an additional $15.9 million to secure its preferred 3500-3600MHz block of the spectrum.

Exactly five years and some months, Mafab, whose 5G footprints are not feasible in the country, may be transferring the license to a competitor, MTN Nigeria. This was because not so much was known about the firm. Checks showed that it was incorporated in July 2020.
After getting the 5G license, its launch was delayed because it had to get a Unified Access Service License and numbering plan to enable it function appropriately as a telecom firm. About a year after, NCC granted Mafab an extension to its original rollout deadline.

The firm officially launched its 5G services in Lagos on January 26, 2023, after an initial Abuja launch. Mafab operated its services under Mcom brand, and NCC assigned the 0724 phone number series to it.

Mafab’s entry into the telecom market, though celebrated, was however, one of the biggest surprises of the 5G auction in 2021.

NCC statistics showed that five years after the commercial launch of 5G in the country, the technology has 4.74 per cent penetration, which means that of the 195.1 million active telephone lines in the country, only about 9.2 million Nigerians are currently using the network. The services are largely in urban centres including Lagos, Abuja, Kano, Port Harcourt, Ibadan, Abeokuta, among others.

Indeed, information gathered showed that the proposed acquisition covers Mafab’s $273.6 million spectrum holdings. Specifically, Mafab’s 2 by 20MHz spectrum block in the 2.1GHz band and its 100MHz holding in the 3.5GHz band.

For Mafab, the transaction marks a strategic pivot away from directly competing with established telecom giants. For MTN Nigeria, absorbing these additional frequency bands will significantly expand its network capacity to keep pace with surging mobile data demand across the country.
The transaction remains subject to final approval by Nigerian telecommunications regulators.

No response from MTN on the enquiries sent by The Guardian to either confirm or deny the development as of press time. However, industry sources monitoring the development confirmed it and informed that the deal could be sealed as early as October.
“The deal could be sealed by next month, I can confirm that Mafab wants an operator, possibly MTN, to take up its 5G license. The deal just requires NCC confirmation and it is done. The regulator will have to access and approve the spectrum assignment and transfer, alongside the terms and structure of the proposed deal,” the source stated.

Sources monitoring the development also said Mafab has held earlier discussions with other potential investors, including India’s Reliance Jio and Airtel Nigeria.

If indeed, NCC gives the nod for NCC acquisition, the deal would provide additional spectrum resources for MTN at a time when rapid growth in data consumption is putting much pressure on network capacity in the country.

As of July, NCC data showed that there are 195.11 million active mobile subscriptions, 157.27 million mobile Internet subscriptions, 124.42 million broadband subscriptions, 57.40 per cent broadband penetration, and 1.66 million terabytes of data consumed.