According to a report published on Monday, Nigeria's second national carrier Globacom is expected to obtain a new spectrum license from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) by the third quarter this year. Business Day Online reported they received information from “informed” sources close to the network of the proposed deal. Monday's report stated that the new deal would give the telecom firm a more efficient and “reasonably priced broadband Internet services” to add to its already solid subscriber base on the Long Term Evolution (LTE) platform. When contacted, the telecom company did not have a comment on the report. Another source reportedly told the daily online newspaper that the government had “failed to effectively manage its national frequency resources.” That, the analyst said, would make such a proposed deal difficult for the company to actually achieve the new standards required for the spectrum license. According to Business Day Online, the national carrier was currently test-running the LTE in some 40 locations across Lagos and speeds were reportedly 10 times faster than the current 3G network services available. Analysts say despite the report, it is still too early to give it weight. One analyst said that “until an official announcement, or statement from a company or NCC official is made, it is really hard to believe this to be fact.” BM
