Telecom
Using TV White Space Technology for Internet Access for Rural Areas
Federal government has tried unsuccessfully in a bid to provide connectivity to rural dwellers in the country.
Among some of the initiatives are National Rural Telephony Project (NRTP) started in 2011, which has been abandon after investing huge fund into it, as well as universal access projects that are conceived by the Universal Service Provision Fund (USPF) to bridge the ICT gaps in unserved and underserved areas or communities.
These have not achieved the desired result of providing connectivity to rural communities where operators are not motivated into deploying service because of lack of commercial value.
These make the approval by Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) for the use of a new technology, TV White Space in a bid to extend broadband internet coverage, especially to rural communities and other far-flung communities a welcome development.
As rural areas do not have commercial value to attract operators who are in business to make money, the conversation is around a cost effective way of providing internet access to rural Nigerians and TV white space comes to mind.
Laying cable or fibre in remote rural areas is not only extremely difficult but often prohibitive in terms of costs. However, Nicole Naidoo, business development manager for ICC Networking (ICCN) says television white space (TVWS) has the ability to transform the way citizens buy and use wireless Internet across the African continent.
TVWS, as the name suggests, is the unused spectrum channels used for TV broadcasting. It is essentially wireless technology developed by using the very high frequency (VHF) and ultra high frequency (UHF) spectrum.
In the days of old analogue TV sets, one had to manually tune into the channels they wanted. While trying to find the right station, there were empty spaces with lots of ‘snow’ between stations. These are in essence, what white spaces are.TV networks leave these gaps in between channels for the purpose of buffering, but this very space can be harnessed to deliver internet. It is ideal for rural areas, as the signal can travel up to 50 kilometres and over rough terrain to reach these areas that are inaccessible or hard to reach.
In some countries, where there is a wide variety of signal distributors and hundreds of TV stations, white spaces are few and the allocation of these unused channels is an issue, as users can experience interference. However, Africa doesn’t have this problem as there are comparatively few broadcasters and plenty of spectrum, meaning disruptions are rare, adds Naidoo.
Engr. Olusola Teniola, president, Association of Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ATCON), said that TV white space is an experimental application to try out in areas of congestion or scarcity of radio frequency.
“It is one of the several ways of broadband type application. Others are spectrum 2.6GHZ, 800MHZ among others. These spectrums should be made available in timely manner by NCC at affordable prize so that in addition to TV white space operators both large and small can have wide options choices for broadband network rollout to communication in Nigeria.
“In fact, TV white space is very good choice and option for networks been built by communities because of low cost slots in it,” he noted.
Telecommunications services disrupted in Kogi State have resumed following a resolution of the dispute between MTN Nigeria and the state government, the Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) has said.
Gbenga Adebayo, chairman of ALTON, told TVC News that the issues that led to the shutdown of telecom masts in the state, primarily affecting MTN, had been addressed, paving the way for service restoration.
TVC News earlier reported that businessmen and women were counting their losses as they suffered the impact of a shut down of telecommunication service in Kogi State
Over the past two weeks, telecoms connectivity had been erratic, with competing brands experiencing glitches, particularly in the Lokoja metropolis.
The State government suspended the operations of some telecom services citing unpaid taxes and fibre-related dues.
The shutdown stemmed from a compliance dispute between MTN and the Kogi State Utility Infrastructure Management and Compliance Agency, which accused the telecom giant of violating operational rules and under-declaring the extent of its optic fibre network coverage in the state.
The protracted Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) debt misunderstanding between the Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) and telecommunications operators appears to have been resolved.
This was confirmed by the Chief Executive Officer of MTN Nigeria, Karl Toriola, Thursday, March 1, when he appeared on Arise TV to speak on the firm’s first-quarter 2025 result, where the telecommunications company reported over N1 trillion in revenue earnings.
Recall that the USSD debt had been a major issue between the DMBs and telcos and had lasted for about five years.
In the third quarter of 2024, the telcos had threatened to withdraw their service over the lingering debt, which was around N200 billion at the time. This led to the swift intervention of the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), and an agreement was reached on payment.
As of November 2024, the NCC put the debt at N160 billion. However, earlier this year, when it appeared the banks were not forthcoming with payments, the NCC directed the telcos to withdraw the USSD services from debt-owning DMBs, where about 18 banks were listed.
This directive prompted the banks to look inward and start to comply with an earlier circular signed by the CBN and NCC, which articulated the payment patterns for the debt.
Speaking, on Arise TV this morning, May 1, Toriola confirmed that the matter has been fully resolved and that banks have made payments.
“I can confirm that the matter has been fully resolved. We have received payments in full. Special thanks to the CBN, NCC, the banks, and other stakeholders that intervened in the matter,” the MTN CEO stated.
Sterling Bank, Leading commercial bank and Africa’s most agile company has announced the introduction of AlwaysOn by Sterling, a bold new feature on its OneBank platform that will give eligible customers up to ₦1 million extra every month -even when their account balances are running low.
Launched on Workers’ Day 2025, the initiative is part of an ongoing movement to remove structural barriers to financial freedom and empower everyday Nigerians to move boldly, even in uncertain times.
AlwaysOn is a specialised, invitation-only feature for customers who maintain an active OneBank account for a while. It provides an advance to settle bills or make payments without delays, or any of the friction associated with traditional credit systems.
“This is not just about funds,” said Abubakar Suleiman, Chief Executive Officer of Sterling Bank. “It’s about freedom and dignity. It’s about backing our customers with the trust and tools to act boldly when life demands it.”
Suleiman emphasised that the new feature is not a product, it’s a logical shift in how the bank supports its customers.
“We’re building a financial ecosystem designed for momentum -for people with grit, urgency, and dreams too big to wait. If you’ve banked with us, you’ve earned our confidence. Now you’ll have our backing to match,” added Suleiman.
The introduction of AlwaysOn marks the next chapter in Sterling’s growing movement to create a fairer and more responsive financial system. It follows the Zero Transfer Fees initiative in April, which returned an estimated ₦13 billion to Nigerians by eliminating transfer charges across the OneBank platform. It also builds on Sterling’s Free Bus Ride initiative, which helped commuters get home from work for free during a time of intense economic pressure.
Together, these efforts reflect the bank’s bold, people-first approach to customer impact, now made possible by its adoption of SeaBaas, Nigeria’s first indigenous core banking platform.
“We’re not the kind of bank that stands on the sidelines while Nigerians hustle,” said Obinna Ukachukwu, Growth Executive for Retail and Consumer Banking. “We removed the fees that slowed them down. Now we’re giving Nigerians the financial freedom to seize opportunity when it shows up. We’re on the pitch with them.”
Sterling’s actions have sparked widespread public support and national recognition as they have continued to push the boundaries of what corporate citizenship can mean to everyday Nigerians.
Notable icons from various fields have canvassed their support and praised the bank’s stance in redefining financial services, inspiring other institutions to follow suit.
Nigerians are encouraged to apply to join the waitlist for the scheme when it goes live in later this month and ultimately, eligibility for up to N1M extra in relief advances.
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