Mafab Communications is in discussions to sell its $273.6 million 5G spectrum licence to MTN Nigeria, The Guardian Nigeria has reported, a transaction that would concentrate Nigerian 5G holdings under the country's largest mobile operator.

The asset in question is the 100MHz time-division duplex slot in the 3.5GHz band that Mafab acquired at the Nigerian Communications Commission's (NCC) first 5G auction in December 2021. Both Mafab and MTN each paid $273.6 million for identical ten-year licences in that sale, the first auction of 5G spectrum in West Africa.

The Guardian's report, which uses the formulation "may sell," provided no terms, no timeline, and no on-record comment from either party. MTN Nigeria had made no formal disclosure to the Nigerian Stock Exchange at the time of writing.

What regulatory approval would the deal require?

Any spectrum transfer in Nigeria requires the prior written consent of the NCC, which has historically preferred to re-auction returned spectrum rather than facilitate secondary trades. A $273.6 million assignment of this size would set a clear precedent in the domestic market and demand explicit sign-off from the regulator before MTN could take operational control of the frequencies.

The Commission has also signalled an interest in extending 5G beyond Lagos and Abuja to state capitals and secondary cities, a policy goal that may colour its view of any deal that concentrates 3.5GHz holdings in a single operator.

Why would MTN want Mafab's spectrum?

MTN Nigeria launched commercial 5G services in September 2022 and offers the service in a handful of cities. A second 100MHz carrier at 3.5GHz would double its 5G downlink capacity in markets where the new frequencies can be re-farmed, and would remove the need for inter-operator coordination on the band.

For Mafab, a sale would liquidate a high-cost asset the company has struggled to monetise on its own. Mafab's 5G service finally went live in January 2023, multiple delays later, and the operator has yet to publish 5G subscriber counts, coverage maps, or audited 5G revenue comparable to those of Nigeria's listed mobile network operators.

What context matters?

Nigerian 5G adoption remains in early stages. End-user device affordability, the slow retirement of 2G and 3G networks, and reliance on imported smartphones have all held back uptake. Mafab's limited capex profile has compounded those structural headwinds; the operator has remained a privately held company with limited public disclosure.

MTN Nigeria, by contrast, is the listed market leader and the only Nigerian operator to have issued detailed quarterly 5G-related key performance indicators since launch.

What happens next?

Until either party issues a formal statement or files the required disclosures with the Nigerian Stock Exchange, the reported talks should be treated as exploratory.

The principal variables to watch are the NCC's regulatory posture, the agreed valuation of the spectrum asset, and whether the transaction is structured as a straight assignment, a long-term lease, or a deferred purchase. Each structure carries different tax, accounting, and competitive implications.

If completed, the transfer would effectively leave MTN Nigeria as the sole holder of 3.5GHz 5G spectrum in the country, redrawing the advanced-mobile-services segment of a market the operator has led since the GSM era.