NCC, NigComSat seal deal to facilitate release of spectrum for commercial 5G uptake
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and the Nigerian Communications Satellite (NigComSat) have signed MoU to facilitate the release of spectrum for commercial deployment of 5G services in Nigeria.
In his speech, the EVC of NCC, Prof Umar Danbatta said “I’m pleased and honored to welcome you all to this historic event between the Nigerian Communications Satellite (NigComSat) and the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) that will facilitate the release of contiguous bandwidth in one of the most suitable Frequency Spectrum band(s) for early deployment of fifth Generation Network (5G) services in the largest market in sub-Saharan Africa”.
For optimal 5G service performance, an average of contiguous 100 MHz of spectrum in the C-band is required by an Operator. However in Nigeria, only 120 MHz of the band (3.4 – 3.52) GHz is available for mobile services while the remaining 680 MHz (3.52 – 4.2) GHz of the band is used by NigComSat (NG-1R) satellites.
“The Commission initiated negotiation with NIGCOMSAT whom in our estimate could make some adjustment to its satellite operation and release part of its Spectrum holding in the band to facilitate the deployment of 5G in Nigeria. The impeccable team at NigComSat proved us right. Ladies and gentleman, permit me to use this medium to appreciate the Management of the NigComSat under the distinguished leadership of my Sister Dr. Abimbola Alale for demonstrating that the interest of our dear country is paramount to our organizational or personal interest.
“The two agencies have been in discussions on how to relocate the operations of NG-1R to the standard C-band 300MHz (3.9GHz – 4.2GHz) potion of the band, which is more suitable in terms of Satellite service offering because end user terminal are cheaper there, while leaving the non-standard C-band 400MHz (3.5GHz – 3.9GHz) portion of the band for 5G use. The cost of relocating the NG-1R is expected to be offset from the proceeds of the auction of the 5G Spectrum.
The two agencies have developed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) detailing all the aspect of this undertaking.
In his remarks, chairman, Board of Commissioners at NCC, Prof Adeoul Akande recalled that “In recent times, precisely from the last quarter of 2019, several administrations have begun to license Spectrum for commercial deployment of 5G.As we speak today, 5G services have already been deployed in United States of America, South Korea, United Kingdom, China, South Africa, Kenya and many more.
According to him, “Telecommunication evolution from inception to date has led to improvement in user experience witnessed from2G, 3G and later 4G. The global impact of 4G brought about increases in mobile usage and network performance. 5G will build on this momentum, bringing substantial network improvements, including higher connection speeds, mobility and capacity, as well as low-latency capabilities. In doing so, it enables new use cases and applications that will positively impact different sectors and improve efforts towards achieving Digital Economies. It does not only offer enhanced broadband and ultra-low, ultra-reliable latency communications but also provide massive machine type communications, where a lot of devices will seamlessly connect and independently interact with the internet without human intervention. Thus, enabling several Smart City initiatives.
Ladies and gentlemen, Spectrum plays a critical role in realising the full extent of these new capabilities.”
He averred that “5G’s full socio-economic impact is dependent on access to a variety of spectrum resources. These Spectrum will play a key role in meeting the demand for many enhanced mobile data services as well as new wireless broadband use cases such as remote object manipulation, industrial automation, virtual and augmented reality and next-generation connectivity for vehicles. These use cases will continue to increase the impact that mobile services have on societies and economies.”
