In line with the mandate to make broadband available to citizens in the country, the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, has announced March 12, 2015 as a date for its consultative forum preparatory for the licensing of the 70/80GHz Band. According the commission this is “in line with the Commission’s practice of industry-wide consultations in carrying out its regulatory activities, the Commission is currently exploring options for licensing users in the 70/80GHz Spectrum band”.

The forum will see industry stakeholders, service providers, investors, financiers, VAS providers, and experts coming together to chart the way forward for the licensing of service providers in this band within the Nigerian telecom industry, the NCC further stated.

This is part of the on-going activities to deepen broadband penetration in the country. The NCC had adopted the Open Access model for infrastructure roll out in the country. It is also implementing the working draft of the National Broadband Plan to facilitate broadband penetration and by extension internet and voice penetration in the country.

It could be recalled that the NCC early last year recorded a great feat at the auction of the frequency in the 2.3GHz spectrum which industry watchers saw as a totem of transparency, thereby setting the pace for the proper deployment and roll out of telecommunications broadband infrastructure. The commission however is not resting on its oars at getting broadband access to businesses and homes by 2018.

Even after a successful auction of the 2.3GHz spectrum, the NCC still sought stakeholders’ contributions for the auction of the 2.6GHz band. The new auction according to the commission is still part of its efforts to deepen competition and improve Broadband penetration in the country towards achieving the goals of the National Broadband Plan.

At a forum held in Lagos, stakeholders gathered to deliberate on key issues towards actualising a successful auction. Key issues such as: Lessons from the last auction in 2.3GHz Band, Spectrum Packaging including the use of Spectrum Caps, Participation Restrictions, Licensing Option: Wholesale, Retail or Combined, Eligibility Criteria, Interference Mitigation Techniques, Spectrum License Tenures and Roll Out Obligation were points of focus.

Speaking at the event, the Chairman of the NCC, Peter Igoh, said that the forum was an opportunity for the commission and stakeholders to exchange ideas from the different perspectives on how best to approach the currently planned auction.

“Today’s forum is part of our consultative disposition in which we strive to ensure inclusiveness in our decision-making processes, fairness and openness in our dealings, and predictability in the nation’s telecom regulatory atmosphere. When auctioned, winners of the licenses would be expected to deploy services that can meet government’s target of faster internet downloads at the speed of 1.5MB/s”, he said.