Entirety participated as an in-person telecoms stakeholder in the 7th Sub-Saharan Spectrum Management Conference.
This conference had a robust debate around WRC-23 agendas 1.2; 1.3 and 1.5, with the following frequency bands, impacted:
3300 MHz – 3400 MHz
3600 MHz – 3800 MHz
6425 MHz – 7025 MHz
7025 MHz – 7125 MHz
10 GHz – 10.5 GHz
These agenda items propose more spectrum allocation toward IMT and MS, the licensed and unlicensed usage of the lower 6GHz band, as well as the sharing of spectrum between broadcasting and ITM/IMS. With the availability of 5G being in about 12 African countries, more spectrum availability for IMT seems to be important. In Africa, 5G is mainly used for WiFi and does not yet have uptake for mobile devices.
Nevertheless, stakeholders such as regulators, manufacturers, and service providers in telecoms emphasized the 49% gap between broadband access (82%) and usage (33%) which currently prevails in Africa, with discussion on whether efforts should be focused on expanding access or bridging the gap. Furthermore, there were some concerns about the sufficiency of spectrum availability for crucial services in the C-band (4000-8000MHz), and for budding developments in spatial research in the continent.
In anticipation of WRC-23, the key questions that arose were:
Should Africa follow the example of the rest of the world to be competitive and at the forefront of ICT innovation?
Or is the No Change (NOC) stance on the agenda items relevant for the African landscape?
The event webpage is available for checking the schedule and sessions replays: https://subsahara-spectrum.com/ In addition, look out for the 9th LATAM Spectrum Management Conference that will happen soon https://latam-spectrum.com/
Type Approval Impacted? No
Spectrum Impacted?
3300 MHz – 3400 MHz
3600 MHz – 3800 MHz
6425 MHz – 7025 MHz
7025 MHz – 7125 MHz
10 GHz – 10.5 GHz
Imports Impacted? No
Standards: No
Product Impacted? No
