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The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has granted Airtel Nigeria Telesonic Limited, a subsidiary of Airtel Africa, three key telecommunications licenses aimed at boosting connectivity across the country.
According to information available on the NCC’s website as of Tuesday, the licenses include National Long Distance, Internet Service Provider (ISP), and Sales & Installation Major licenses. These authorizations will enable Airtel Nigeria Telesonic to expand its fiber network, providing a robust and scalable infrastructure to meet the increasing demand for data services in Nigeria.
The telecom regulator stated, “The companies listed below have paid their license fees in full and have collected their license documents for the respective telecommunications undertakings prior to the reclassification of licenses into class and individual categories.”
The National Long Distance license, which is valid for 20 years, will be in effect from July 1, 2024, to June 30, 2044. This license grants Airtel the authority to establish and maintain networks that support long-distance communications, including voice, data, and video services within Nigeria.
Meanwhile, the ISP and Sales & Installation Major licenses, each with a five-year validity, will also commence on July 1, 2024, and will expire on June 30, 2029, as indicated on the NCC website.
Reacting to this development, Adeolu Ogungbanjo, President of the National Association of Telecommunications Subscribers, praised the move as a positive step toward enhancing competition within the telecommunications market. “This is a good development. The more licenses granted, the more competition we will have in the market. As operators roll out their services, it will improve quality, and subscribers will benefit from it,” Ogungbanjo said.
He expressed optimism that the new licenses would lead to improved service delivery, broader coverage, and better value for subscribers.
In February, Airtel Africa launched Airtel Nigeria Telesonic Limited as its wholesale fiber arm, aiming to revolutionize the continent’s data market. This initiative followed the December 2023 launch of Nxtra, a data center business built on the success of Airtel’s Tier 3 data center in Lagos, which opened in 2022.
During the launch of Telesonic, Airtel Africa’s CEO, Segun Ogunsanya, highlighted Africa’s ongoing digital revolution, driven by a significant increase in demand for data centers across various sectors, especially among the continent’s growing youth population. He emphasized that Airtel’s goal is to bridge the digital divide and foster innovation and economic growth through strong and scalable infrastructure.
Currently, Nigeria has about 35,000 kilometers of fiber optic cables, with plans to extend this by an additional 90,000 kilometers. This expansion is part of a broader strategy to connect all 774 local government areas and significantly boost broadband penetration, aiming for a 70% target by 2025, according to the Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy.
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