West African country, Nigeria, is set to auction spectrum for 5G in the fourth quarter of 2021 as authorities in Africa’s largest economy speed up plans to officially launch the next-generation network.

It was earlier in May when the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) signed an agreement with NigcomSat, a communications satellite firm, allowing 5G services in the country to ride on the latter’s C-band frequency spectrum.

However, the spectrum is being used for the majority of commercial deployment of 5G networks globally. As of February this year, several U.S. telecoms companies had spent a lot for C-band.

Following the deal, Nigeria is expected to start auctioning the spectrum by Q4 2021, according to NCC vice-chair, Umar Garba Danbatta.

“Securing spectrum for 5G is an antecedent for any operator to commit serious investment in 5G infrastructure,” Danbatta said.

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The NCC also disclosed that the auctioning process is expected to move to the assignment stage in the first quarter of 2022, during which companies chosen can then bid for their preferred positions within the airwaves.

Nigeria’s latest move towards a national rollout of the next generation network comes as it plays catchup in Africa’s 5G race behind Kenya and South Africa, both countries which have already launched commercial 5G networks.