Prof Umar Garba Danbatta, executive vice-chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has revealed that Nigeria has reserved the 26, 38 and 42 GigaHertz (GHz) spectrum frequencies for fifth-generation (5G) mobile broadband licencing. Nigeria is expected to begin the licencing process soon but first, the country awaits the completion of the standarisation process at the World Radio Communication (WRC) in Egypt.
While responding to questions at the just concluded International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Telecoms World in Budapest, Hungary Garba Danbatta told the media that, “The other important step that African countries are taking is to address new forms of social anxiety occasioned by this emerging technology, 5G. There’s also the regulatory anxiety. And therefore to do that, because of the practice we had in the past every service we deploy is normally preceded by proof of concept trial. And the 5G is not an exception. Definitely, there’s going to be the trial as preparations are underway for this important trial to take place.”
According to Garba Danbatta, the whole idea of these trials is to anticipate the challenges such as security, power density, radiation levels and also finding out whether they are within the acceptable limits provided by the international non-ionisation radio regulatory agencies. The trails will also help the Nigerian Communications Commission prepare for the commercial rollout of 5G services in Nigeria.
Furthermore, the Nigerian Communications Commission revealed that Nigeria is working closely with other African nations and exchanging information about sharing their experiences as they try to roll out 5G services in Africa.
When it comes to infrastructure, Nigeria will be divided into seven zones. Each zone will be assigned to an infrastructure company which will oversee the development of 5G broadband infrastructure in their respective zones.
5G services will be available in Nigeria by 2020.