Nigeria’s federal government has reached an agreement with the Niger Republic for the coordination of signal utilization on the country’s borders.
This agreement was reached during a two-day Digital Economy Regional Conference organized by the Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy in Abuja.
A statement issued to journalists on Sunday by the Director of Public Affairs (DPA), Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Dr. Reuben Muoka said that the agreement applied to the coordination of frequencies existing in the Nigeria-Niger transboundary areas between 87.5 megahertz (MHz) to 30 gigahertz (GHz).
This, however, does not include ‘land and mobile services whose use is restricted for security, maritime and national defense or for which information is not available’.
It noted that the agreement backed by the Constitution of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and other inter-governmental arrangements take into account, the rights and obligations of all parties specified in the Convention.
“The agreement will help in the effective coordination and sharing of frequencies and channels in the ‘buffer zone or area’ on borderlines between the two countries.
“It will also help to address one of the major issues of signal interference regulation that may arise in telecoms signal transmissions by terrestrial telecoms service providers, as it spells out the procedures for regulating such cases,” he said.
According to the agreement, it will provide, in part, that in case of harmful interference affecting one of the parties, the affected party shall inform the other party in writing for necessary action to be carried out.
Mouka added that the agreement now mandates the two parties to inform one another of any interference observed, so that action can be taken.
“Also, the party from whence the interference is originating shall ensure that all necessary means are used to resolve the harmful interference within 30 days of receipt of the notice,” he added.
