NCC approves trial of 5G in Nigeria

Umar Danbatta, the executive vice-chairman of the  Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), says the regulatory agency has approved the spectrum for the country’s trial of 5G services.

He spoke on Tuesday at the opening of the first digital Africa week organized by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in Abuja.

According to him, the agency has negotiated the counterpart funding for the infrastructure companies to implement the technology.

He also said the NCC has constituted a broadband implementation monitoring committee (BIMC) to oversee the actualization of the project within a four-year implementation plan in line with a declaration made by President Muhammadu Buhari.

“Nigeria has not only achieved but exceeded the 30% penetration target set by the National Broadband Plan (NBP) (2013 – 2018) and at the end of June 2019, our broadband penetration stood at 33.31%,” Danbatta said.

“With the development of Smart Cities Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) by the ITU, it is imperative to have a pervasive and ubiquitous broadband infrastructure across all our towns and cities to achieve the objectives of making them Smart.

“The NCC will continue to drive and implement policies, projects, and programmes aimed at facilitating digital revolution and digital inclusion in Nigeria. In this regard, we have approved spectrum for the trial of 5G services in the country.”

According to him, 26GHz, 38GHz, and 42GHz spectrums have been assigned for use in the rollout of the advanced technology and the NCC’s framework would also aid the deployment of internet of things (IoT) devices and smart services in the country.