NIGERIA

"Regulatory Guidelines for Deployment of Broadband Services on the 5.2-5.7 GHz Band," NCC, "This band can be deployed to provide WiMax, Wi-Fi, Campus Local Area Network, public access, mass market and other related services... The 5.47 – 5.725 GHz band shall be licensable, while the 5.25-5.35 GHz and 5.725 – 5.875GHz bands shall be license exempt... In order to accommodate all categories of operators and users, some segment of the spectrum has been identified for commercial use and others set -aside for private use... The commercial operators should be licensed to enable them have exclusive rights to allocated spectrum which will enable a more predicable and stable provision of services... Indoor and outdoor operations permitted – Maximum mean e.i.r.p. allowed... is 1W... In the band 5.47-5.725 GHz maximum allowed transmitter power is 250Mw... This is a draft regulation and comments are welcomed from manufacturers, operators and the general public on or before 30th June, 2007. The Commission will thereafter come out with the final regulation. Kindly send comments to Dr B. Sani via sani@ncc.gov.ng or radfrequency@ncc.gov.ng..."
"Commercial Operation in the ISM Frequency Bands," NCC press release (spring 2002?): "The use of ISM bands (2.4G, 5.8G etc) for commercial purposes has been a hot topic of discussion over the years. Since taking over the management of commercial spectrum from Ministry of Communications in January, 2002, NCC has reviewed the situation and consulted widely and also studied the issue as it obtains in other countries of the world... The Commission therefore wishes to state categorically that ISM bands cannot be used to provide commercial services. They are only allowed for private use, self-provision or for industrial, scientific and medical applications. However, in order not to disrupt services to several users who have already subscribed to operators using this frequency... the present illegal operators are hereby given up till the end of February, 2003 to vacate the band. Subscribers are advised to be careful about patronizing any service provider offering wireless access service based on ISM bands as quality cannot be guaranteed and such operators will not be allowed to operate as from end of February, 2003."
Balancing Act Update issue number 155 (30 April 2003): "...the Internet Service Providers Association of Nigeria (ISPAN) have called on the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to reconsider its plan to scrap the 2.4 Ghz and 5.8 GHz frequency currently used by most internet service providers. The NCC has given up till the end of this year when it would expect every body using the ISM (Industrial, Scientific and Medical) band for unlicensed commercial operation to vacate."
NCC announcement of a 28 August 2003 "Workshop on Wi-Fi and Bluetooth Technology Applications for Nigeria": "The essence is to sensitise interested persons and the general public about these emergent technologies and their applications, with a view to exploring means for early and orderly introduction of these services in Nigeria..."
"Use of ISM Band for Commercial Telecom Services" - NCC press release (October 2003): "Some users of ISM band in Nigeria have not kept to the technical conditions for its use. The signals are boosted sometimes up to 30watts and above; they also use high gain antennas mounted on tall mast/towers in order to capture a large customer base over wide geographical areas. Because access to the spectrum is perceived to be free, operators assume that they can mount antenna and beam signal into the air at will. In fact, over half of the masts that litter the skyline of Lagos and our major cities are most likely to be from users of ISM band. Also, the equipment used are never subjected to type approval process as required by law... Since service quality and reliability cannot be guaranteed, NCC had no option but to stop the abuse of the band. However, in response to public consultations and meetings held between the Commission and representatives of stakeholders in the industry in respect to the use of ISM frequency band, the Nigerian Communications Commission will soon be publishing guidelines for the utilization of the ISM band for restricted commercial applications to which all users must comply with.... [The] Nigerian Communications Act 2003 requires that all operators providing telecommunication services in Nigeria must be licensed by the Commission and that all telecommunication equipment intended for use in Nigeria must be type approved and that the fact that a spectrum is license-free does not preclude the licensed operator from subjecting its equipment to type approval... ISPs currently distributing services on a point to multipoint basis over long distances across the city should know that it is currently illegal to use ISM bands over such long distances in Nigeria... Early in the New Year, the Commission also, intends to provide guidelines on the establishment of Wireless (Wi-Fi-) hotspots... in busy areas where people gather such as Airports, hotels, railway stations, campuses, cybercafes etc but subject to subsisting licensing regulations."
Licensing in the Era of Liberalization and Convergence: The Case Study of the Federal Republic of Nigeria by Simon Moshiro, ITU, December 2004 (26 pages): "Spectrum bands, which have possibility of being shared among large number of users, are assigned under class licences... As 2.4 GHz is a shared band, the Commission has issued a guideline to ensure interference free operation by all users of the band and guaranteed grade of services to subscribers. Providers of commercial services using frequencies in this band are required to obtain an ISP licence..."
Commercial Frequency Management Policy, Administrative Procedures and Technical Guidelines, National Communications Commission. Discussion of "License-free ISM Bands" on pages 23-26: "In Nigeria the ISM bands 2.4G, 5.8G and 24G are allowed for Radio Communications application on a secondary, non-protected, non-interference, and non-exclusive basis and subject to the underlisted conditions... Self-provision of telecommunications services intended only for private use. These include branch networking, wireless LANS... etc. It must not be used for providing services to third parties either free of charge or on commercial or fee-paying basis.... All networks in which ISM frequency is deployed shall be registered with NCC for information purpose only..."
"NetnearU Partners Intel On Wimax Deployment," by Frances Ovia, This Day (Lagos), 5 April 2006 (via AllAfrica.com): "NetnearU, one of the leading wireless Internet Service Providers with the state-of-the-art technology in Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi) deployment, has entered into partnership with Intel, the global chip manufacturer to set up Wi-Fi hotspots across the country... the total number of hotspots already deployed by NETnearU [is] 327..."
"Abuja to get wireless internet network," TeleGeography, 21 December 2005: "The Nigerian Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) plans to invest NGN670 million (USD5 million) in the deployment of a citywide wireless internet network in Abuja. Suburban Broadband Limited will fund 80% of the cost and roll out the network, which will provide Wi-Fi internet access to the entire city and its suburbs..."
"Broadband connectivity, not mobile phone density is true measure of ICT access, say experts," by Sola Fanawopo, The Daily Sun, 6 June 2007 "Sounding a note of warning last week in Lagos, the ISPs Consortium under a trade name, NaijaWiFi, lamented that the non-inclusion of telecommunications in the seven points agenda of the newly inaugurated President Umaru Yar'Adua government [which incorrectly implies] that telecommunications issue in the country have been settled by Olusegun Obasanjo's government. According to the group, the new government... should include broadband connectivity as the number eight of its agenda... And in their contribution to broadband connectivity in the country, the consortium made up of 27 Internet Service Providers (ISPs) have pooled resources to build a national Wireless Fidelity (WiFi). Code-named NaijaWiFi Initiative, its promoters told journalists in Lagos last week that the wireless broadband network would cost about N5bn to install. According to Ndukwe Kalu of Amco Telecoms, one of the promoters of the initiative, the WiFi network would cover 24 cities, cutting across the six geo-political zones. He said the project would be completed in six months. On the benefits of the project to Nigerians, Kalu explained that it is only broadband connectivity that can bring economic growth to the country..."
"Sales and Operation of Unauthorised Wireless Equipment and Gadgets," NCC press release, undated.
"Intel Broadband Brings Wi-Fi to Nicon Abuja" by Godfrey Ikhemuemhe, Emma Ujah & Chinyere Amalu, The Vanguard (Lagos), 15 September 2004. What is said to be Nigeria's first wi-fi hotspot opens at the Nicon Hilton Hotel in Abuja.
"Erratic Power Supply, Bane of ICT Growth" by Remmy Nweke, Daily Champion (Lagos), 30 June 2005.

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