Ben Uzor Jr
After years of intensely lobbying the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), Nigeria and indeed Africa has finally secured additional spectrum allocation at the just concluded World Radiocommunication Conference 2012 (WRC-12), Business Day can reliably inform. The African Team, led by Bashir Gwandu, executive commissioner, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) dedicated to pursuing the Allocation of Spectrum to IMT on the 700MHz band has vigorously pursued the Allocation of the 694-790MHz at the ITU in order to turn Africa’s broadband potential into reality.
The African delegates, according to analysts who spoke with Business Day yesterday, have every reason to celebrate the conclusions of the WRC-12 and should indeed be celebrated by the African Telecom Industry for coming home with something that was up till now akin to a dream. This development, according to the analysts would enable telecommunication operators in Nigeria and Africa roll out innovative and reasonably priced broadband services, and consequently bridge Africa’s digital divide.
Still on the achievements of the African team particularly Nigerian delegates, they have ensured that the Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) services on the 850MHz band (Principally for Visafone, Multilinks, Prestel, Rural Telephony, and Intercellular) that had neither Primary nor Secondary Allocation from the ITU, now have, a formal Primary Allocation Status in the Radio Regulations which should have been done many years ago either before or after the CDMA operators were licensed. This new allocation in the 850MHz band, according to industry watchers can now enable Nigerian operators to demand for non-harmful-interference from services of other countries -a right which hitherto they never had.
Among many other proposals made by Nigerian team was an important International Mobile Telecommunications (IMT) related proposal and an accompanying resolution which was adopted by the African Group as common proposal; to consider additional spectrum allocations to the mobile service on a primary basis and identification of additional frequency bands for IMT and related regulatory provisions, to facilitate the development of terrestrial mobile broadband applications. The proposal was also favorably considered and it was accepted to be the Agenda Item 1.1 for the WRC-2015.
Only few weeks ago, the request for the spectrum allocation presented by Gwandu on behalf of African countries was met by stiff opposition mainly from Western and Eastern Europe within Region 1 of the ITU. The African team in partnership with Arab group remained resolute and focused on the target with commitment of ensuring the success of their drive. According to Gwandu, “Africa has come of age to be taken seriously at the WRC, it is simply not an option to go back home empty-handed. “Yes, we can understand that the Allocation Request is not explicitly on the Agenda of the Conference as others would like to see it. But the Agenda Item 1.17 and the Section 89 of the ITU constitution provide sufficient ground to table such a request.
“Most especially considering the poor state of broadband penetration in African Countries”. After several weeks of Adhoc Special Technical Committee work attended by Europe and RCC on the one hand as well as Africa and Arab group on the other, Chaired by Larry Olson of the FCC which culminated into long nights of technical justifications by the proponents, the conference has eventually found solution to accommodate African request while also allowing sometime for technical planning and for other partners in the Region to rise to the occasion by allocating the requested 694-790MHz to mobile services on co-primary basis and identification for IMT, but effective 2015. The later effective date should allow for re-planning/clearance of broadcast TV stations in the band to lower band, as well as, development of common-channeling plan for the whole region which should be followed by common-standard development, chip-set manufacture, and mass production of relevant handsets and Base stations. This technical work is in line with the strive to achieve intra- and inter-regional harmonization for the use of band 694-790/790-862 MHz in order to ensure both broadcasting and mobile services operate in a non‑interference environment.
Through delicate negotiations, CEPT and RCC agreed to support African request. However, despite Inter-regional agreement to support the allocation, a reservation statement was entered by a group of European countries comprising; the Federal Republic of Germany, Austria, Belgium, the Republic of Hungary, the Republic of Latvia, the Principality of Liechtenstein, the Republic of Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Slovak Republic, the Czech Republic and the Confederation of Switzerland, who stated that they have accepted the compromise on the use of the band 694-790 MHz with great reluctance and on an exceptional basis. They further stated that they have given weight to the fact that the compromise was made in the spirit of International Cooperation and only to satisfy the urgent Broadband demand of those countries which made the proposals. This reservation of some European countries clearly underlines the difficulty that African delegates have faced in the bid to promote Information Communication Technology (ICT) growth and driving home the consequent opportunities ICT sector presents, so as, to address economic challenges in the continent.
On the satellite issues, concerns were raised by African delegates on the possible misuse of Radio Regulations provisions that could result in a single spacecraft being used to bring into use frequency assignments for multiple satellite networks at multiple orbital locations within a short period of time (i.e. satellite hoping to protected filings for the so-called satellites on paper or paper-satellite), and thus, deprive other countries, especially newcomers from Africa, the chance to secure the un-occupied satellite orbital slot. The WRC-12 decided to provide further guidance through a text that was drafted by a team –including Gwandu stating that; a frequency assignment to a space station in the geostationary-satellite orbit shall be considered as having been brought into use when a space station in the geostationary-satellite orbit, with the capability of transmitting or receiving that frequency assignment, has been deployed and maintained at the notified orbital position for a continuous period of ninety days. If after launch, the satellite failed before attaining 90 days, then the 3 year suspension rule automatically applies.
Any frequency assignment (orbital slot) not brought into use within 7 years of filing at ITU-R shall be cancelled by Radio Regulation Board of the ITU. Wherever a satellite is moved from a satellite slot or de-orbited, within 6 months, the notifying administration shall, inform ITU-R of the date on which such use was suspended. For a satellite that failed, the date on which the recorded assignment is brought back into use (with a replacement satellite) shall be not later than three years from the date of suspension. In addition, whenever an administration brings into use frequency assignments at a given orbital location using an already in-orbit satellite, the ITU-R should request for information indicating all other previous orbital locations/frequency assignments brought into use with the same satellite.
First published on Business Day, 20 February, 2012.
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