The National Communications Commission, (NCC) has approved three licences for Airtel Nigeria Telesonic Limited, a subsidiary of Airtel Africa.
Specifically, the licences are to enable the company to expand its fibre network and enhance infrastructure for the purposes of meeting growing demand for data services in Nigeria.
The telecom industry regulatory commission listed the licences on its website as including the National Long Distance, Internet Service Provider, and Sales & Installation Major licences.
The NCC stated: “The companies listed below are those that have fully paid their licence fees and have received their licence documents for their respective telecommunications operations prior to the reclassification of licences into class and individual categories.”
“National Long-Distance licence, which is valid for 20 years, will be in effect from July 1, 2024, to June 30, 2044. This licence will allow the operator to establish and manage networks that facilitate long-distance communications within Nigeria, covering voice, data, and video services.
“On the other hand, the Internet Service Provider and Sales and Installation Major licences will be valid for five years, starting on July 1, 2024, and ending on June 30, 2029”, it added
It would be recalled that Airtel Africa launched Airtel Nigeria Telesonic Limited in February as a wholesale fibre division, aiming to transform the continent’s data market, following the earlier launch in December last year of its Nxtra, a new data centre business.
Before then, the telecom operator had opened in 2022 its Airtel’s Tier 3 data centre in Lagos
Speaking during the launch of the company, the Airtel Africa’s Chief Executive Officer, Segun Ogunsanya, stressed that Africa was experiencing a digital revolution, with huge demand for data centres across various sectors, especially among the continent’s expanding youth population.
He explained then that one of the key objectives of Airtel was to bridge the digital divide and foster opportunities for innovation and economic growth through reliable and scalable infrastructure.
With Nigeria currently estimated to have approximately 35,000 kilometres of fibre optic cables and efforts by the government and the organized private sector to boost this capacity an additional 90,000 kilometres to improve connectivity, experts believe that the licensing of Airtel Telesonic Ltd by the NCC, will help in connecting all 774 local government areas and significantly boost broadband penetration.
The Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy has set a target of reaching 70% of the population with broadband access by 2025.
