The regulator also declared an operating surplus of N248.34bn including payments from MTN Nigeria amounting to N71.97bn from spectrum licence and Unified Access Services (UAS) licence.

The regulator said the N294.312bn remitted to the CRF represented cash received from spectrum fees from 2015 till date while the N248.339bn operating surplus posted was for the same period under review.

According to an online platform, Eurostat Statistics Explained, the operating surplus of an enterprise measures the difference between revenue and expenditure, that is, the surplus or deficit accruing from production. “It is calculated before taking account of any interest, rent or similar charges payable on financial or tangible non-produced assets borrowed or rented by the enterprise or any interest, rent or similar receipts receivable on financial or tangible non-produced assets owned by the enterprise,” the website explained.

The regulator in July said it had generated N150bn from spectrum licence fees in five months.

The cash, it said, represented 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. This reflects a significant contribution to the revenue drive of the Federal Government, it said.

The NCC had said in July that it generated N150bn from spectrum licence fees in five months.

The Commission also noted that the cash represented over 400 percent increase in revenue budget performance in respect of spectrum fees generated by the Commission between January 1 and May 31, 2021.

With 5G technology set to be deployed early next year, the NCC is about to rake in even more billions with the lower limit of 5G spectrum licenses already set at N75bn.