The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), says it is planning to deploy the 6G spectrum in Nigeria to expand access to Wi-Fi technology.

Aminu Maida, executive vice-chairman of NCC, spoke on Thursday on the efficient management and utilisation of spectrum resources at a consultative engagement forum on emerging technologies.

Tagged, ‘The Use of 6GHz (5925-7125) MHz for WiFi and IMT Applications in Nigeria’, the forum was held in Lagos to get stakeholders’ input and recommendations on how the new frequency can be used.

The NCC also said the forum, held annually, serves as a platform to get the support of stakeholders for its policies.

In his opening remarks, Maida, represented by Abraham Oshadami, executive commissioner of techincal services at the commission, said existing spectrums (5G and 2G) are becoming overcrowded, hence the need to introduce other frequency bands.

“The 6GHz band, spanning from 5925 MHz to 7125 MHz, offers a substantial increase in available spectrum, which is crucial for supporting the growing demand for high-speed internet and advanced applications. Wi-Fi plays a crucial role in the distribution of fixed broadband connectivity in homes, offices, and various other environments,” Maida said.

“The vast majority of home internet traffic is connected to the end-user through Wi-Fi. In enterprise settings, Wi-Fi is essential for handling large amounts of data and simultaneously connecting large numbers of devices with improved reliability, higher data throughput, and lower latencies.

“However, the 5GHz and 2.4GHz that are being used for Wi-Fi (Wi-Fi 5) at the moment are becoming overwhelmed due to an increase in demand for capacity. It is, therefore, imperative to identify other frequency bands to complement the 5GHz and 2.4GHz.”

Speaking on the benefits, Maida said the proposed frequency would increase capacity, allowing for the use of applications such as virtual reality, augmented reality, which existing spectrums “will not carry”.

“With Wi-Fi 6 introduction, you have more capacity opened up for people to be able to connect and have seamless access to Wi-Fi and remember, this is unlicenced, so it is free. In the long run, it’ll bring down the cost of connecting to Wi-Fi.”

Caroline Alenoghena, a professor of telecommunications engineering at the Federal University of Technology, Minna, said the introduction of a new spectrum is necessary to address the congestion in the present Wi-Fi frequencies.

The professor said opening up the 6G band would create “opportunities for start-ups to grow” in terms of providing digital services.

On his part, Tony Emoekpere, president of the Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON), said the 6G spectrum — if properly allocated — would allow more diverse technologies to be deployed.

Emoekpere said it would also democratise access to the urban, semi-rural, and rural areas.

“Foreseeable challenges are things like infrastructure requirements, the whole of investment that’s required, competing technologies, because some of these technologies are still being developed,” the ATCON president said.

He described the forum as a standard practice in the industry to ensure that stakeholders are consulted when new technologies, licences, and policies are being developed.

The United States (US) federal open market committee (FOMC) has reduced its interest rate by 0.5 percent — its first cut in four years.

FOMC, a committee under the US Federal Reserve (Fed), deliberates on monetary policies to influence the availability and cost of money and credit to help promote national economic goals.

The committee reduced the federal funds rate, which serves as the benchmark for borrowing rates in the banking industry, to a range between 4.75 and 5 percent.

During a press conference on Wednesday, Jerome Powell, chairman of the Federal Reserve and FOMC, said the decision reflects the Fed’s confidence that, with policy adjustments, labour market strength can be sustained alongside moderate growth and inflation moving toward 2 percent.

“Our economy is strong overall and has made significant progress toward our goals over the past two years. The labour market has cooled from its formerly overheated state,” Powell said.

“Inflation has eased substantially from a peak of 7 percent to an estimated 2.2 percent as of August. We’re committed to maintaining our economy’s strength by supporting maximum employment and returning inflation to our 2 percent goal.

“Today, the Federal Open Market Committee decided to reduce the degree of policy restraint by lowering our policy interest rate by a half percentage point.

The federal government is expected to receive a new loan from the World Bank, totalling $1.5 billion.

According to the Washington-based financial institution’s project list, the loan is set to be approved on September 26.

The $1.5 billion will be distributed through three major development projects aimed at improving Nigeria’s economic stability and resource mobilisation capacity.

The projects, targeting crucial sectors such as healthcare, agriculture, and infrastructure, are pivotal for the country’s sustainable development and economic stability.

A breakdown of the projects showed the World Bank will approve $500 million for the first project tagged ‘Nigeria: Primary Healthcare Provision Strengthening Programme’.

The World Bank did not disclose the cost of the first project.

Another $500 million will be approved for the ‘Nigeria Human Capital Opportunities for Prosperity and Equity (HOPE) – Governance’ project, which has a project cost of $700 million.

The third project, ‘Sustainable Power and Irrigation for Nigeria,’ will also receive $500 million, but has a project cost of $10.75 billion.

TheCable also observed that two loan requests, one on the ‘Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Project – Scale Up,’ will receive $500 million by December 16, and the other on ‘Solutions for the Internally Displaced and Host Communities Project,’ slated for an approval date of April 8, 2025, will receive N300 million.

Nigeria’s external debt to the international lender keeps growing.

In May, the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) said the federal government has secured a $500 million loan from the World Bank to boost electricity distribution in the country.

Prior to this, the federal government had received $750 million from the World Bank for humanitarian and social reforms and $1.5 billion for its economic stabilisation plan.

Also, on June 3, Wale Edun, minister of finance and coordinating minister of the economy, said the World Bank board of directors would consider a loan of $2.25 billion for Nigeria.