Nigeria and Niger Republic sign agreement on telecoms frequency coordination along their joint borders

In order to enable seamless service deployment throughout the two nations, Nigeria and the Republic of Niger have inked a bilateral agreement for coordination of frequency usage along respective borders. The agreement covers coordination of frequencies between 87.5 megahertz (MHz) and 30 gigahertz that are present in the Nigeria-Niger transboundary zones (GHz).

In addition to addressing one of the major issues of signal interference regulation that may arise in telecoms signal transmissions by terrestrial telecoms service providers, the agreement indicated it will aid in effective coordination and sharing of frequencies and channels in the “buffer zone or area” on borderlines between the two countries. It also outlines the procedures for addressing such cases.

According to the two parties, the agreement stipulates, among other things, that in the event of adverse interference affecting one of the parties, the affected party shall notify the other party in writing so that the required steps can be taken. Within 30 days after receiving the notice, the party from which the interference is coming must make sure that all required measures are taken to stop the detrimental interference.

However, it states that the land and mobile services whose use is prohibited for reasons of security, maritime, or national defense, or for which information is not available, shall not be subject to the provisions of the agreement. This is true even though the Agreement is without prejudice to the rights and obligations of the parties specified in the Convention, the Constitution of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), and other inter-governmental agreements.