An Enterprise Licensing Agreement for Microsoft Products and the Migration of C-band Services has been approved by the Federal Executive Council on behalf of the Federal Government.
The C-band migration is anticipated to accelerate the implementation of fifth-generation services in the nation, while the Microsoft Enterprise deal is anticipated to reduce the cost of information technology initiatives.
According to a statement made by Dr. Femi Adeluyi, the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof. Isa Pantami’s technical assistant for research and development, to hasten the rollout of 5G services across the nation, the Federal Executive Council approved an Enterprise Licensing Agreement for Microsoft Products and the clearance of C-band spectrum.
The Government-wide Enterprise Licensing Agreement for Microsoft products, according to the statement, is a plan for the government to lower the cost of software purchases and keep the cost of IT projects within manageable ranges.
The Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy will oversee the National Information Technology Development Agency as it executes this plan.
The government’s current investment in Microsoft Products and Services is anticipated to be reduced by at least 35% thanks to the Enterprise Licensing Agreement.
All federal public institutions were instructed by the federal government to use the Agreement when purchasing Microsoft licenses and services.
The C-band migration approval enables the Nigerian Communications Commission to migrate the current users on the affected spectrum and free up a portion of the C-band spectrum within the country’s telecommunications industry in preparation for the successful deployment of 5G technology in that nation.
Additionally, the NCC and Nigerian Communication Satellite Limited have decided to surrender their present frequency for the immediate deployment of 5G in the nation and move NigComSat-1R Satellite C Band service operations to another frequency (Standard C Band).
The statement claims that NigComSat-1R, which is now operating C-Band services on the 3.4 – 3.9GHz spectrum area, will reach the end of its present lifetime in seven and a half years. In Nigeria, the 5G network is anticipated to debut in August of this year.
