Nigeria’s internet speed to improve with new spectrum band

2 hours ago 4

Nigeria’s internet speed will improve when it moves to the 6GHz spectrum band. This is as the Nigerian Communications Commission announced that the country is set to join the league of countries already utilising part of the 6GHz band for Wi-Fi -6 applications.

The Executive Vice Chairman of the Commission, Aminu Maida, disclosed this during a Stakeholders’ Consultative Forum on Emerging Technologies in Lagos on Thursday. According to Atiku Lawal, Ag. Head, Spectrum Administration, NCC, overcrowded airwaves are currently limiting the potential of Wi-Fi in the 2.4GHz and 5GHz, and it is not a surprise that more than 70 countries have already acted, or are considering acting, to open the 6GHz band for unlicensed Wi-Fi use.

He said, “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.”

The 6 GHz spectrum is a band of radio frequencies that supports multi-gigabit speeds, translating to faster internet speeds. Maida, the EVC NCC, said the 2023 World Radiocommunications Conference (WRC-23) allocated the 6GHz band for Wi-Fi and IMT applications.

“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, who was represented by the Abraham Oshadami, executive commissioner of Technical Services at NCC, said.