NCC, NigComSat sign agreement for early deployment of 5G in Nigeria

Last updated: 2021/05/05 at 11:01 PM

starconnect Published 5 May 2021

L-R: Engr. Oluwatoyin Asaju, Director, Spectrum Administration, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC); Mr. Hadi Muhammad, Executive Director, Finance and Accounts, Nigerian Communications Satellite (NIGCOMSAT); Mr. Adeleke Adewolu, Executive Commissioner, Stakeholder Management, NCC; Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta, Executive Vice Chairman/CEO, NCC; Chief Uche Onwude, Member, NCC Board of Commissioners; Dr. Abimbola Alale, Managing Director, NIGCOMSAT; Prof Abdu Bambale, Executive Director, Technical, NIGCOMSAT, and Engr. Ubale Maska, Executive Commissioner, Technical Services, NCC, during the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Fifth Generation (5G) spectrum on Wednesday in Abuja.

Emmanuel Thomas l Wednesday, May 05, 2021

ABUJA, Nigeria – The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and the Nigerian Communications Satellite (NigComSat) today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that will facilitate the release of contiguous bandwidth in one of the most suitable Frequency Spectrum band(s) for early deployment of Fifth Generation (5G) technology in Nigeria.

Speaking at the ceremony, Executive Vice Chairman of the NCC, Professor Umar Garba Danbatta noted that amongst the Frequency Spectrum bands allocated to 5G by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU, the C-band(3.4GHz-3.9GHz) stands out because its balancing point between coverage and capacity provides the perfect environment for 5G connectivity.

“The C-band is most suitable and appropriate for immediate deployment of 5G services taking into consideration availability of device ecosystem with 60-70% of global commercial 5G network deployment currently in the band, thus the importance of this Spectrum for early deployment of 5G services in Nigeria cannot be over emphasized”, he said.

Danbatta explained that for optimal 5G service performance, an average of contiguous 100 MHz of spectrum in the C-band is required by an Operator. In Nigeria, he added, 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 EVC said the Commission initiated negotiation with NIGCOMSAT whom it estimates 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. He explained that 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, he said is expected to be offset from the proceeds of the auction of the 5G Spectrum and that the two agencies have developed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) detailing all the aspect of this undertaking.

Responding, to the deal, Managing Director of Nigcomsat, Dr. Abimbola Alale thanked the commission for collaborating with her company in order to advance the course of the digital economy of the Federal Government.

Earlier in his opening speech, Chairman, Board of Commissioners, NCC, Professor Adeolu Akande noted that 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”, he said, adding that telecommunication evolution from inception to date has led to improvement in user experience witnessed from 2G, 3G and later 4G.

According to him, the global impact of 4G brought about increases in mobile usage and network performance and that 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”. Akande said 5G does not only offer enhanced broadband and ultra-low, ultra-reliable latency communications but also provides 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.

He explained 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”, and that these use cases will continue to increase the impact that mobile services have on societies and economies.