Regulator queries Alheri over inability to roll out

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has queried 3G (third-generation) licensee Alheri Engineering Company over its failure to start service 16 months after receiving an operating license.

NCC chief executive Ernest Ndukwe made the disclosure while responding to questions at a press conference in Lagos last Saturday, organized to mark seven years of successful licensing of the country's GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) operators.

NCC awarded 3G licenses in April 2007 to Alheri, Celtel Nigeria (now Zain), Globacom and MTN Nigeria out of the 17 companies that applied for licenses. Each operator granted a license paid US$150 million for a 10MHz lot in the 2GHz band.

Alheri had hoped to capitalize on the investment interest of parent company Dangote Group with the license.

"For Alheri, I must say we have not seen much of them, and the commission has now written them, and we expect to get a clear written report on what their plans are, and we will let the media know as soon as we get to the stage where we will take a decision in respect to that," he said.

"We don't just wake up and withdraw it," Ndukwe added of the license. "So, we want to give them enough time to explain to us what they are doing. They paid $150 million dollars for a 3G spectrum. It is a very valuable spectrum and cannot just be left unused for a very extended period of time."

Etisalat, which received a license in December 2006, has also failed to roll out commercially, and Ndukwe expressed surprise that any company paying $400 million for a license, as Etisalat did, would not use it.

"In the case of Etisalat, we have been in contact with them, and they have demonstrated to us that they are doing something," Ndukwe said. "We have visited some of their sites. They have made some test calls, and they have come to us for numbering plans and microwave frequencies, which we have given. They have employed people and set up offices, and we hear that within the next one month, they might go commercial."

Zain, Globacom and MTN have launched services on their 3G platforms.