BY PRINCE OSUAGWU & EMMANUEL ELEBEKE

ABUJA—IT was like the biblical fight between David and Goliath yesterday in Abuja as a relatively unknown company, Bitflux Communications Limited, floored Nigeria’s second national carrier, Globacom, to acquire the license for the remaining slot in the 2.3GHz spectrum band.

Bitflux offered twenty three million, two hundred and fifty one thousand dollars ($23,251,000) to win the license as against Globacom’s offer of twenty three million, fifty thousand and one dollars ($23,050,001 million) in a keenly contested licensing round that attracted information and communications technology experts around the world to the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja, Nigeria yesterday.

The spectrum is necessary for the provision of broadband services as it helps internet services providers, ISPs, provide requisite wholesale wireless access and bandwidth that can take services round the country.

This means that having won this license, Bitflux has become the country’s wholesale wireless broadband provider, if it pays the bidded amount within 14 days.

At the first round of the bidding, NCC had pegged the price at $26,450,000 which comprises the $23 million reserved price and a 15 percent addition. However, the two bidders refused to bid on the price, sending the process to a second round.

In the second round of the bidding process, the bidders were asked to bid anything above or equal to the reserved price of $23 million or a little below the total price of $26,450,000.

It was at this point that Bitflux, a consortium of three small-time Nigerian companies, knocked off Nigeria’s Second national Carrier, Globacom to clinch the coveted license.

Globacom however reacted that it felt the license price was too high and may not fit into its business plan at anything beyond what it bidded.

Announcing the result of the auction, Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Dr Eugene Juwah said that “what happened here today was simple but highly technical. We put the take off price at $26,450 million. Unfortunately, the two bidders did not bid.

”But because the bidding process is electronic, the system spotted their silence and immediately took them to a tie breaker. In the tie breaker round, Glo bidded $23, 050,001 million while Bitflux bidded $23, 251,000 million to make it the winner,” he said.