NCC Talks Tough on Frequency Usage

Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) said it will undertake a more efficient implementation of assigned spectrum to ensure optimal usage and by this, the commission will go tough on the ‘use -it -or -lose -it’ policy to prevent assigned spectrum from lying fallow.

Eugene Juwah, executive vice chairman of the commission said that frequency as a scarce resource needed to be efficiently managed to ensure optimal allocation and usage.

He stated this in his keynote address at the Association of Telecommunications Companies Of Nigeria (Atcon) Telecoms Executives and Regulators Forum in Lagos,

 He said:  “This ensures availability of required spectrum for existing, new and evolving technologies,” and added that the commission was re-planning the 800MHZ and 700 MHZ bands for LTE, while also re-farming the 2.5GHZ band.

This, he said would help realize the digital dividend after the targeted digitization of the broadcast industry slated for 2015 by the International telecommunications Union (ITU).

"The digital dividend can only be fully realized when the digitization of the broadcast industry is complete by the targeted 2015 deadline," the EVC enthused.

Juwah said the commission was also re-farming the existing 1900 and 2100MHZ spectrum for LTE as Capcom, a company that hopes to take over Starcomms had signified interest in the spectrum to roll out LTE services in the country.

The commission is to go neutral on newly assigned spectrum, open new bands for short haul high capacity microwave links and encourage use of spectral efficient technologies in existing spectrum.