The Federal Government has officially handed over the spectrum allocation for 5G deployment in the country to the Nigerian Communications Commission. (NCC).
This is coming barely a week before the deadline set by the NCC for the payment of the spectrum fees by the winners of the 3.5GHz spectrum auction.
Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, presented the official document on the 3.5GHz spectrum allocation to the commission at the Transcorp Hilton, Abuja on Thursday.
The 5G spectrum allocation document was received by the Chairman, NCC Board of Commissioners, Prof. Adeolu Akande, and the Commission’s Executive Vice Chairman/CEO, Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta, on behalf of the Commission.
Speaking at the event, which also witnessed the public presentation of the National Policy on 5G Networks, a document earlier launched by President Muhammadu Buhari on January 25, 2022, the Minister commended the NCC leadership for ‘a transparent, fair and credible 3.5GHz spectrum auction’ conducted on December 13, 2021.
Pantami also stated that the 5G network, when deployed, will bring a lot of benefits and opportunities that will engender accelerated growth and smart living in the country. He asserted that the technology will bring substantial network improvements, including higher connection speed, mobility and capacity, as well as low-latency capabilities.
Earlier in his remarks, Akande said the effective implementation of the National Policy on 5G, which the Commission is driving, will help in the actualization of the national targets in the Nigerian National Broadband Plan (NNBP) 2020-2025, the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy 2020-2030, as well as other sectoral policies designed to enhance Nigeria’s digital culture.
Danbatta, while expressing appreciation to the Minister and all stakeholders for the role played in the emerging 5G network policy implementation initiatives, said the collective efforts of the private sector and government support will make deployment of 5G network transform every aspect of the nation’s economy. He was optimistic that the expected transformation will be greater than what the nation witnessed with the 1G, 2G, 3G and 4G.
Recalling the diligence that attended the implementation of 5G policy by the NCC since the process started in 2019, Danbatta said Nigeria had taken proactive and meticulous steps to be among the leading players in the global digital economy.
