Oct. 28, 2021

… Says 5 slots of 100MHz bandwidth available for auction

The Nigerian communications Commission has reiterated its readiness for the deployment of 5G services in the country.

According to the Commission, its state of preparedness is high.

It a podcast on the Commission’s website the Executive Vice Chairman, Umar Danbatta while listing steps the commission has taken to ensure deployment according to the plan in place said, “you will recall that the most important document that is supposed to drive deployment of 5G in the country is the policy itself, and this has been approved by the Federal Government”.

Danbatta added that there’s the need for 5G resources that will facilitate the deployment. “We’re targeting mid-band spectrum for the deployment of 5G services, these are frequencies in the range of 3.5-3.9GHz and 5 slots of 100MHz bandwidth are available for auction this year”.

He however said that a few finishing touches are being put in place and “we’re good to go, we’re almost there because our target is to conclude the auction this year(2021).

“The spectrum is ready, as well as the policy document for implementation and auction committee has been set up, while an information of memorandum has been published on our website for potential investors (licensees) who might be interested in the auction for spectrum that will be used to deploy 5G services”.

Key to the deployment of 5G services he noted, is the policy that will enable the granting of licenses; the spectrum that will in turn facilitate the deployment of 5G services. “This is key and the most important step this government has taken so far”, he said.

Report by: Theresa Igata