The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), on Thursday, met with industry experts and other stakeholders to brainstorm on the usage of part of 6Ghz Band for Wi-FI connectivity.
The meeting focused on how part of 6Ghz Band can be used for Wi-Fi connectivity towards making broadband service more accessible to individuals, homes and offices across Nigeria.
The event was the Annual Stakeholders’ Consultative Forum on Emerging Technologies, hosted by the Commission and held in Lagos.
Speaking at the event, the NCC Executive Vice Chairman/CEO, Dr Aminu Maida, disclosed that Nigeria would join other countries already utilising part of the 6GHz band for Wi-Fi -6 applications.
The speech of the NCC EVC/CEO was delivered at the event by the NCC Executive Commissioner (Technical Services), Mr Abraham Oshadami.
Maida described the gathering as a “historic event where Nigeria is set to join the league of countries already utilizing part of the 6GHz band for Wi-Fi -6 applications.”
He said he was particularly glad to be associated with the process because it was in tune with the essence of his appointment, in 2023, as the NCC EVC/CEO by President Bola Tinubu.
“We took a decision to reposition the Commission on a path that will ensure the uptake of opportunities through our strategic focus areas which is driven by the recognition that each of our stakeholders, whether it is our licensees and industry operators, consumers or government maintains unique perspective and have certain expectations of as the Commission.
“Therefore, to accomplish our objectives in driving our strategic goals, the Commission identified some key factors, which include people, collaboration data, compliance and digitalization,” he said.
According Maida, the Commission has been able to set the ball rolling to enhance telecommunication service delivery in Nigeria.
He said the actions of the NCC and that of the Federal Government were guided in the right direction, “through the Ministers Strategic Blueprint cantered around knowledge policies, infrastructure, innovation, entrepreneurship and capital as well trade.
“We are here again to elicit your comments and inputs on the use of the 6GHz for Wi-Fi -6 and International Mobile Telecommunications (MT).
“This in line with one of the key factors on collaboration as outlined in our focus areas and the Commission’s traditionally institutionalised policy of participatory regulation and the practice of industry-wide consultations in conducting its regulatory functions.
“In line with global best practices, we sincerely believe that our actions must be guided by decisions that take into cognizance the inputs from all stakeholders in the industry,” he said.
The NCC EVC/CEO noted that the 6GHz band, spanning from 5925 MHz to 7125 MHz, offers a substantial increase in available spectrum. This, he said, is crucial for supporting the growing demand for high-speed internet.
According to him, advanced applications Wi-Fi plays a crucial role in the distribution of fixed broadband connectivity in homes, offices and various other environments.
“The vast majority of home internet traffic is connected to the end-user through Wi-Fi.
“In enterprise settings, Wi-Fi is essential for handling large amounts of data and simultaneously connecting large numbers of devices with improved reliability, higher data throughput and lower latencies,” he added.
The NCC EVC, however, noted that the 5GHz and 2.4GHz currently in use for Wi-Fi (Wi-Fi 5) are becoming overwhelmed due to an increase in demand for capacity.
“It is, therefore, imperative to identify other frequency bands to complement the 5GHz and 2.4GHz,” Maida added.
The NCC boss also disclosed that the recently-concluded 2023 World Radiocommunications Conference (WRC-23) allocated the 6GHz band for Wi-Fi and IMT applications with different recommendations on how to use the band.
“This was the outcome of a long study cycle process leading to the decision at the WRC-2023 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
“Today, we present to you our thoughts and recommendations on the use of the Spectrum band to get your feedback for informed decision-making,” he concluded.
