ConsumerConnect | Stakeholders, Broadband access critical to effective 5G deployment, national development ─Pantami

*The Minister for Communications and Digital Economy at the NCC Stakeholder engagement, in Lagos, urged the participants to exhaustively come up with far-reaching recommendations for successful auction of of 3.5Ghz band in accordance with the international best practices for maximum benefit to consumers

Gbenga Kayode | ConsumerConnect

The Federal Government has described the sustained industry-wide consultations as a milestone in its plan to deploy 5G networks in the country as quickly as possible.

ConsumerConnect reports Prof. Isa Ali Pantami, PhD, FNCS, FBCS, FIIM, Honourable Minister for Communications and Digital Economy (FMCDE), stated this development in his keynote paper on the theme: “Deploying 5G Networks in Nigeria: The Critical Role of Stakeholders”, presented to declare open the Stakeholder Engagement Forum on the Draft Information Memorandum on Auction of 3.5Ghz Band, held Thursday, November 4, 2021, in Ikeja, Lagos.

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) organised the well-attended stakeholder engagement forum on the Draft Information Memorandum on the Auction of 3.5GHz Spectrum Band for implementation of the Fifth Generation (5G) Networks in the country.

Prof. Pantami in his keynote address acknowledged President Muhammadu Buhari’s “tremendous support towards this and other programmes of the Ministry.”

Represented at the forum by Mr. Abubakar Abdullahi Ladan, Director in FMCDE and Secretary of the National Frequency Management Council (NFMC), Pantami urged the participants to freely and exhaustively discuss to come up with far-reaching recommendations for the successful auction of the spectrum in accordance with the international best practices for maximum benefit to Nigeria and Nigerians.

Nigeria’s journey to imminent 5G deployment

The Minister has restated how the Federal Executive Council (FEC), in Abuja, FCT, laid the foundation for the current efforts on 5G by approving a National 5G Policy for Nigeria’s Digital Economy September 8, 2021.

According to him, the 43-page policy document contains all the necessary information guiding the processes and procedures for the deployment of 5G technology in the country.

“Among other mandates the Policy stipulated is the collaboration with relevant stakeholders and provision of the required spectrum and enabling environment to ensure full deployment of 5G.

“This will harness the social and economic benefits that come along with it, and will serve as a catalyst for the successful implementation of our National Digital Economy Development and Strategy (NDEPS) 2020-2030, for a Digital Nigeria,” said he.

NCC’s mandate to implement NDEPS for socio-economic transformation

As regards the implementation of the NPEPS Policy 2020-2030, Pantami also noted that the Nigerian Communications Commission, under the supervision of the Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy, is saddled with the responsibility of developing strategies, standards, guidelines and frameworks for the deployment of the 5G networks nationwide.

He said in order to ensure a coordinated approach in this regard, the NCC has been directed to not only collaborate with relevant agencies under the FMCDE, but with all other relevant stakeholders in order to achieve the aims and objectives of the Policy. Further to the above, the Minister also said that the Policy was designed and formulated to achieve many other goals.

A cross-section of NCC team and other dignitaries at the Stakeholder Engagement Forum on the Draft Information Memorandum on Auction of 3.5Ghz Band in Ikeja, Lagos

Pantami stated these objectives include the need to ensure effective deployment of 5G to cover major urban areas by 2025; security of 5G ecosystem and the protection of data; ensure that international best practices and globally accepted standards and specifications are entrenched in Nigeria’s 5G ecosystem; and ensuring the required infrastructure needed for successful deployment of 5G networks, such as data centres, power, etc, are catered for in deployment strategies of 5G networks.

The Minister, therefore, seeks proper collaboration among the various stakeholders of the industry.

Pantami noted: “The participants at this forum having been carefully selected as the critical stakeholders, along with the Ministry and the NCC.

“We all have a vital and specific role to play in this journey towards using 5G to support our national economic development agenda.”

Auctioning 3.5GHz spectrum band (the lower C-band)

The Minister also stated that, the Ministry through the National Frequency Management Council, is to supervise and provide the required spectrum for 5G deployment in the country.

Pantami, who also doubles as the Chairman of NFMC, further noted the NCC is to organise and coordinate forums like the last stakeholder engagement in Lagos so as to collate inputs from our critical partners for the success of the exercise in Nigeria.

The 3.5GHz spectrum band (the lower C-band), which is not effective in satellite operations, has been recovered from NigComSat and reallocated to the NCC in the first instance, for deployment of 5G technology based on terms and conditions agreed by both parties, the Minister stated.

The next step, he noted, is auctioning of the spectrum which is under the purview of the NCC as the regulator of the telecoms industry in the country.

Continuous stakeholder engagement ahead of 5G deployment

The Minister for Communications and Digital Economy has stated for transparency and accountability in the sale of this common national heritage (spectrum), the Federal Government “thought it wise to involve relevant stakeholders in the process so that the general public is carried along.”

Prof. Pantami stressed the purpose of the gathering, therefore, was to discuss the Information Memorandum (IM) on the Auction of this 3.5GHz Spectrum Band allocated for deployment of 5G networks in the country soon.

He urged the participants to use their time, energy and expertise, and accord the national assignment the attention it deserves.

Pantami noted: “Your service is for the advancement of our national interest and for the benefit of the generations yet unborn.”

Significance of broadband access, penetration in activating digital economy

ConsumerConnect reports Broadband technology has been described as a high-capacity transmission technique using a wide range of frequencies, which enables a large number of messages to be communicated simultaneously.

In telecommunications, Broadband is wide bandwidth data transmission, which transports multiple signals at a wide range of frequencies and Internet traffic types, that enables messages to be sent simultaneously, used in fast Internet connections.

The medium can be coaxial cable, optical fiber, wireless Internet (radio), twisted pair or satellite.

Likewise in the context of Internet access, it is used to mean any high-speed Internet access that is always on and faster than dial-up access over traditional analogue or ISDN PSTN services.

The Minister, therefore, charged the participants to “freely and exhaustively discuss to come up with far-reaching recommendations that will ensure successful auction of the spectrum in accordance with the international best practices for maximum benefit to our nation.”

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Stakeholders, Broadband access critical to effective 5G deployment, national development ─Pantami

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