NCC earns over N150bn from spectrum license fees in 2021

The Nigerian Communications Commission has earned over N150bn from spectrum license fees within the first five months of 2021, surpassing its projected revenue of N36bn.

This was contained in a press release titled ‘NCC Surpasses Revenue Projection, Post N150bn Spectrum Fee in 5 Months,’ issued on Sunday by NCC’s Director of Public Affairs, Dr. Ikechukwu Adinde.

According to the press statement, “The figure represents over 400 per cent increase in revenue budget performance in respect of spectrum fees generated by the Commission between January 1 and May 31, 2021, reflecting significant contribution to the revenue drive of the Federal Government.

“Accordingly, the N150 billion spectrum revenue achieved in the first half of the year has been remitted to the Federal Government in line with the provisions of the Nigerian Communications Act, 2003, which mandates the Commission to remit proceeds from spectrum resources wholly into the government’s Consolidated Revenue Fund.”

The press statement added that NCC’s Executive Vice Chairman, Prof. Umar Danbatta, attributed the revenue boost to a favourable turn of events for the telecom sector.

“Commenting on the revenue performance, the Executive Vice Chairman of the Commission, Prof. Umar Danbatta, said that the impressive uptick in spectrum fee was the result of the favourable turn of events for the telecom sector, which at the time of preparing the estimates for the 2021 Budget of the Commission was not clear due to the ravaging impact of COVID-19 on the global economy.

“Danbatta noted that the 10-year spectrum fees made by some of the major operators directly impacted the projected spectrum fee favourably, adding that the Commission believes that enthronement of effective regulation will continue to improve the general performance of the telecoms sector,” the statement added.

NCC