Review of NCC’s Draft 5 years Spectrum Roadmap, Draft Guidelines for use of 60 GHz License Exempt Band end January 16, 2026
By Eyo Nsima
The review of Nigerian Communications, NCC’s Draft 5 years Spectrum Roadmap, and Draft Guidelines for use of 60 GHz License Exempt Band will end on January 16, 2026.
According to the NCC, “in exercise of its functions under the Nigerian Communications Act 2003 (NCA 2003) published two regulatory drafts on its website.”
In accordance with Section 58 of the Act, the Commission invites interested stakeholders to review and make comments on both regulatory frameworks.
The Commission said: “All submissions must be received by the Commission no later than Friday, January 16, 2026. All submissions and inquiries should be forwarded to ygibrahim@ncc.gov.ng, yabdulkadir@ncc.gov.ng and jdavid@ncc.gov.ng.”
Under the DRAFT Spectrum Roadmap for the Communications Sector (2025 – 2030), NCC, stated: “Spectrum—the range of invisible radio frequencies (RF) that carry wireless signals—is the foundation of modern digital infrastructure. It enables everything from mobile voice and data services to broadband internet, satellite communications, television broadcasting, WiFi, and emerging innovations like 5G, IoT, and smart city applications. As a finite national resource, spectrum must be managed strategically to maximize its value for public and economic good.
“Over the past two decades, Nigeria has made commendable strides in digital connectivity. As of Q4 2024, the Information and Communications sector contributed an average of 17.68% to GDP (with telecommunications alone accounting for 14.4%) and recorded a growth rate of 7.40% in Q1, 2025, ranking just behind agriculture and trade.
Teledensity exceeded 79% and broadband penetration stood at 48.78% as of June 2025—reflecting sustained growth even after the enforcement of the NIN-SIM linkage policy, which led to the disconnection of millions of lines not linked to the National Identification Number (NIN) in compliance with federal directives. This outcome highlights the resilience of the sector and underscores spectrum’s centrality to economic growth, digital innovation, and national competitiveness.
“As digital demand accelerates and new technologies emerge, the current pace of progress must be matched with a modern, inclusive, and forward-looking spectrum management approach. The Nigeria Spectrum Roadmap 2025–2030 charts this course—ensuring that spectrum is allocated, assigned, and utilized to deliver broad national impact, in alignment with the National Broadband Plan (NBP) and the National Digital Economy Policy and
Strategy (NDEPS).
“The strategy is structured around four core pillars that reflect Nigeria’s digital ambitions: bridging the digital divide, enabling market-driven investment, enhancing quality of experience, and promoting innovation and future readiness. These pillars serve as the backbone of the roadmap, guiding spectrum policy decisions to ensure that no community is left behind, private investment is encouraged, service quality is prioritized and Nigeria remains competitive in adopting future technologies.
“To operationalize these pillars, the roadmap outlines a coordinated national approach to refarm and release critical spectrum bands, strengthen cross-sectoral collaboration, and institutionalize data-driven decision-making through improved planning, monitoring, and stakeholder engagement. Tools and frameworks to promote spectrum sharing, resilience, and regulatory agility are also embedded into the roadmap to enhance its responsiveness to evolving market needs and global best practices while ensuring spectrum delivers maximum socio-economic benefit to the entire country.
“By 2030, we envision a Nigeria where spectrum has enabled universal, high-speed broadband access across urban and rural areas; powered inclusive digital innovation across health, education, agriculture, and commerce; strengthened national security, public safety, and emergency communications; positioned Nigeria as a top-tier digital economy in Africa and a model for spectrum governance globally.
“The roadmap is thus a national commitment to harness the power of spectrum for inclusive growth, digital empowerment, and long-term prosperity for all Nigerians.”
Similarly, under the Draft Guidelines for the use of 60GHz License Exempt Band for Multi Gigabit Wireless System, NCC, stated: “The use of licence-exempt Spectrum for wireless broadband and last mile access allows home-based users to have access to varieties of IP-based services thereby enhancing universal service objectives.
“The Nigerian Communications Commission (Commission) hereby provides guidelines for the use of the 60 GHz spectrum band for Wi-Fi access, Wireless Gigabit (WiGig), 5G offload and related technologies to ensure rapid expansion of services and accelerated increase in Internet penetration in Nigeria at affordable prices to all categories of users.
“The Commission, therefore, sets out rules on unlicensed basis in the 60 GHz spectrum (57 – 66) GHz band to allow wider coverage distances for unlicensed 60 GHz to deliver Multi-gigabit Wireless System (MGWS) services such as Wireless Personal Area Network (WPAN), Wireless Access Service (WAS), Radio Local Area Network (RLAN) and Fixed Wireless Services (FWS) etc. to support broadband service provision in Nigeria.”
