Telcos Push for More Spectrum Allocation to Boost Broadband Penetration

Stories by Emma Okonji Telecommunications operators (Telcos) have called on the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to release and auction spectrum licenses that will speedily drive broadband deployment in urban and rural communities.

The call was sequel to the delay in auctioning the 2.6GHz spectrum licence occasioned by its recent cancellations by the NCC.

The operators who spoke with one voice, also called on the International Telecoms Union (ITU), the global telecoms regulatory body, to allocate more mobile broadband spectrum to Africa, specially Nigeria that needs more spectrum licences to deploy broadband services to the large population of Nigerians that are yearning for fast internet broadband service, both in the urban and rural areas.

Corporate Services Executive at MTN, Mr. Wale Goodluck, told THISDAY that telcos need more spectrum licences for speedy broadband service deployment, and called on NCC to make spectrum licences available for telcos.

Aware of the shortfall in broadband spectrum in the country, the Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Dr. Eugene Juwah, had said the NCC and the telecoms industry stakeholders are optimistic that the digital dividend spectrum, which is the frequency band located with 700 megahertz, which has been internationally adjudged to be very useful in deploying high-speed internet services in the country, would add to the list of spectrums resources already penciled down for auctioning to boost broadband provision in the country.

While the NCC is hoping on the 700 megahertz spectrum from the broadcast industry, operators are saying that NCC should not be so sure of the spectrum, since there are no signs that the broadcast industry are prepared to migrate from the analogue broadcast to digital broadcast by June 17, 2015, which is the deadline given Nigeria for the migration. Based on the reality of things, the operators are calling on NCC to look elsewhere to make broadband spectrum available to them as quick as possible.

The 700MHz spectrum band was approved by the ITU, the global telecoms regulation arm of the United Nations (UN), for mobile broadband deployment about three years ago.

The Director, Spectrum and Public Policy, Africa, GSMA, Mortimer Hope, who was