More frequencies for broadcast, telecoms services in Nigeria, others

Members of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), including Nigeria, have secured additional frequencies to enhance broadcasting and telecommunications services in their countries and regions.

The release of the resources was secured at the just concluded ITU World Radio Conference 2023 (ITU-WRC23) in Dubai, UAE.

Revealing this, the Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr Bosun Tijani, who led Nigeria’s delegation to the conference, disclosed via X that the Nigerian delegate was also able to secure the recovery of satellite resources for broadcast services.

Indeed, part of the resolutions of the meeting released by the ITU, showed that the conference approved a recommendation by the Radio Regulations Board to allow 41 countries, including Nigeria, to acquire new and usable orbital resources for satellite broadcasting.

According to the United Nations body in charge of global communications, the countries were unable to use their assigned orbital slots in recent years due to factors such as lack of coordination and interference from other satellite networks. The decision aims to enable countries to implement sub-regional satellite systems.

The Minister wrote via X: “Following the closing ceremony and ratification of the agreements at the ITU-WRC23 earlier today, I am excited about the success that our delegation has been able to achieve, including the recovery of satellite resources for broadcast services and securing additional FM Frequency channels which are both a boost to our telecoms and broadcast industry.”

Tijani appreciated the Nigerian delegation to the conference drawn from the Ministry of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Nigeria Communications Satellite Limited, and other private stakeholders.

“Work must now begin as we plan towards the next WRC in 2027 and as I mentioned to our delegation yesterday, I am keen to see more diversity and succession planning to ensure we can have effective and impactful representation at these events,” the Minister added.

Meanwhile, the ITU in a statement at the weekend, said the Member States of the Union agreed on revisions to the global treaty governing the use of the radio frequency spectrum, both on Earth and in space.

The agreement on updates to the Radio Regulations identifies new spectrum resources to support technological innovation, deepen global connectivity, increase access to and equitable use of space-based radio resources, and enhance safety at sea, in the air, and on land.

ITU Secretary-General, Doreen Bogdan-Martin, said: “WRC-23 puts the world on a solid path towards a more connected, sustainable, equitable, and inclusive digital future for all. Key regulatory achievements on the spectrum for space, science, and terrestrial radio services build on the momentum of ITU’s ongoing work to achieve universal connectivity and sustainable digital transformation.”

According to the statement, a total of 151Member States signed the WRC-23 Final Acts. The Final Acts constitute a record of the decisions taken at the conference including both the new and revised provisions of the Radio Regulations, all Appendices, and the new and revised Resolutions and ITU-R Recommendations incorporated by reference into the treaty by the conference.

In a related development, ITU’s Partner2Connect (P2C) Digital Coalition has identified new connectivity projects worth $7 billion worldwide in 2023, the UN tech agency announced atPartner2Connect’s second yearly meeting in Geneva, Switzerland.

The new commitments increase to nearly $37 billion the value of resources mobilized by Partner2Connect since the pledging platform opened in March 2022.

ITU reported earlier this year that 2.6 billion people around the world still live without a connection to the Internet. The new resources are expected to help increase access to affordable and meaningful connectivity for those who remain offline.

Bogdan-Martin said: “Partner2Connect is about big numbers but even bigger human impact stories. “Behind the numbers are people and organizations committed to making a difference in the lives of hard-to-connect communities.”

Earlier this year, ITU called for $100 billion in pledges by 2026 to mobilise the expertise, resources, and investment for projects to reach those in the hardest-to-connect communities.

Overall, the number of pledges received by P2C this year increased by 55 per cent, with the number of pledging entities rising by close to 60 per cent. By the end of 2023, almost three-quarters of the 280 pledges reported were in progress.