OWN CORRESPONDENT and LESLEY WROUGHTON, Lagos | Wednesday
THE winners of the four licences to operate digital mobile telecommunications in Africa’s most populous country will be announced on December 5 this year after contenders bid for the privilege.
The Nigerian Communications Commission, in charge of an auction for the four sought-after licences, said bidding would be held in September.
The head of the commission, Ernest Ndukwe, said the bidding process would be “open and transparent” and details would be posted on the NCC website. A previous bidding process was cancelled after allegations of corruption against officials.
Nigeria, with a population of more than 120 million people, currently has one of the lowest rates of telephone access in the world with just four in 1,000 people having a telephone line at home.
Telecommunications in Nigeria are rare and access is expensive. A typical mobile phone in Nigeria costs around US$1000 to buy and call charges are high. Access to landlines is also difficult and expensive. – AFP