Nigeria aims to join other more than seventy (70) countries that have already acted, or are considering acting, to open the 6GHz band for unlicensed Wi-Fi use.
The capacity in the unlicensed use of the 6GHz band for Wi-Fi will improve Quality of Service (QoS) through Wi-Fi 6 offload as the use of Wi-Fi at home, offices, institutions, airports etc. will help relieve networks of capacity constraints by taking devices of the cellular networks, says Engineer Atiku Lawal, acting head, Spectrum Administration, Nigerian Communications Commission.
Engr. Lawal stated this during the annual Stakeholder’s Consultative Forum on Emerging Technologies, an annual event organized by the Commission to elicit comment and input from the industry stakeholders.
The Annual Stakeholders Forum creates an opportunity for NCC to, not only obtain comments and inputs, but also to share knowledge and ideas on issues that are germane to its areas of focus.
He said:
“With the overcrowded airwaves currently limiting the potential of Wi-Fi in the 2.4GHz and 5GHz, it is not a surprise that more than seventy (70) countries have already acted, or are considering acting, to open the 6GHz band for unlicensed Wi-Fi use.
“Depending upon the country’s implementation plan, this decision will provide two to three times the quantum of Spectrum available today, resulting in the ability to implement 80MHz and 160 MHz channels being available for the new Wi-Fi 6 standard ideal to support digital transformation efforts and use cases like high definition video and X Reality (XR).
“Further to this, additionally, capacity in the unlicensed use of the 6GHz band for Wi-Fi will improve Quality of Service (QoS) through Wi-Fi 6 offload as the use of Wi-Fi at home, offices, institutions, airports etc. will help relieve networks of capacity constraints by taking devices of the cellular networks”.
He recalled that efforts towards opening the 6GHz band has been a subject of discussion in the last International Telecommunications Union (ITU) conferences until it was concluded in the last 2023 World Radiocommunications Conference (WRC-23) held in Dubai.
Following the outcome of the WRC, there were different recommendations which we are going to see later in our presentation on the use of 6GHz (5925 – 7125) MHz for Wi-Fi 6 and International Mobile Telecommunication (IMT) applications.
“We have also made our recommendation for us to deliberate and make a contribution for informed decisions that will stimulate maximum socioeconomic benefit”, Lawal added.
The Stakeholders Forum witnessed presentation such as Recommendation of L6 Sharing between Microwave and Wi-Fi, Progress of IMT Development in 6425-7125 MHz, Wi-Fi for the Digitally Driven Economy, OEM / Vendor Perspective, Wi-Fi Alliance Perspective all of these coming from the Academia, OEMs and Industry Experts in line with the Commission’s consultative process.
“The Commission always loves to engage our stakeholders in our rules making process, such as the one we are going to witness today. Decision on the use of 6GHz Spectrum in Nigeria, after the allocation of the band to the IMT services by the WRC-23”, he reassured the stakeholders.
