The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) says that Bitflux Communications and Globacom are approved bidders for the country’s auction of a 2.3GHz band spectrum licence.

In a statement, the telecoms watchdog has said that both firms complied with the pre-qualification criteria set out in the ‘information memorandum’ for the 2.3GHz spectrum auction.

The auction is scheduled to take place on 19 and 20 February 2014 at the Transcorp Hilton, Maitama in Abuja.

Globacom, also known as Glo Mobile, is a leading mobile service provider and the second largest mobile operator in Nigeria. Meanwhile, Bitflux Communications is described as a consortium of start-ups.

According to reports the auctioning of the bandwidth is part of the NCC’s plan to have a wholesale broadband provider in the country as part of its ‘Open Access Broadband Strategy’.

ITWeb Africa previously reported that the NCC had altered the conditions of winning the 2.3GHz spectrum auction in that country.

In an update on the requirements, the NCC said it plans to allow the eventual winner to forge an alliance with an existing Unified Access Service License (UASL) owner.