Airtel Nigeria said it will use newly acquired 5G spectrum to drive its growth within the West African country’s telecommunications market.

The company said it acquired 100 MHz of spectrum in the 3500MHz band and 2x5MHz of 2600MHz from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) at a fee of US$316.7-million, payable in Naira.

The NCC stated that as at 5 December 2022, Airtel Nigeria and Standard Network & Connections Limited (Standard Network) had showed interest in the auction of the 3.5GHz spectrum, but that only Airtel paid the Intention to Bid Deposit (IBD) as stipulated in the information memorandum, making the telco the sole successful bidder.

Airtel Nigeria said the additional spectrum will ensure higher speed connectivity and improved customer experience, as well as accelerate digitalisation for consumers, enterprises and the public sector.

Airtel is keen to expand its network for both mobile data and fixed wireless home broadband capability, including 5G rollout, which will adorn the network with the requisite capacity to support strong data growth.

CEO of Airtel Africa Segun Ogunsanya, said: “Investment in new technologies and local infrastructure to enable this growth is a strategic priority for the Group and will ensure we are able to provide reliable and affordable services to local communities across the country.”

Airtel has operations in 14 African countries and Nigeria is its largest. The company believes this latest development will empower it with additional competitive advantage with which to compete against MTN Nigeria and Globacom Limited (Glo).