NCC begins process for drone regulation

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has begun work on the guidelines to be used for drone regulation.

At a stakeholders’ consultative forum that held in Lagos on Wednesday, the commission said the guidelines were necessary given the potentials of the instrument.

Umar Danbatta, NCC’s executive vice-chairman, who was represented by Adewolu Adeleke, the executive commissioner for stakeholder engagement, said the guidelines on the use of 2.4GHz and 5.8GHz are currently under review to accommodate drones.

According to Adewolu, it is important to deliberate with stakeholders before the revised guidelines are made public.

“You may wish to note that the guidelines for the use of 2.4GHz and 5.8GHz spectrum bands are presently limited in its condition of use and therefore requires amendments,” he said.

“Toward this end, the new draft guidelines have incorporated some changes which include but not limited to duty cycle, transmission, reception frequencies, power, distance, speed and weight.”

In his remarks, Austin Nwaulune, the director of spectrum administration, said the NCC is included in drone regulation because it is saddled with spectrum regulation explaining that drones use spectrum.

“Over the years, the commission has had guidelines on both the use of 2.4 GHz and 5.8 GHz Bands for wireless access system (WAS). And these are all license-exempt bands (ISM bands) which studies have shown to be suitable for drone’s deployment globally,” he said.

“However, the prevailing guidelines on the use of 2.4 GHz and 5.8 GHz band do not cover the general requirements for the control of drones and payload links such as on-board cameras, sensors, etc. some of these requirements include technical parameters such as transmitting power, coverage distance, modulation schemes etc. that were not envisaged at the time the existing guidelines were being crafted.

“As you may know, Unmanned Aircraft Vehicle (UAV) Technology otherwise known as the drone has gone through massive development in recent years, and the market for drones shows exponential growth, similar to all other significant new Technologies.

“Drones have a lot of potentials, in terms of law enforcement, these devices have the innate ability to hover around locations without drawing much attention from the people. Thus, this can be used for surveillance or for public safety.

“Drones can easily reach places that many humans cannot, and this can be invaluable when timely rescues are critical. Usually, a rescue operation is a fight against time. There is usually a need to get the drones to work fast and smoothly. This is where drones come in handy. With the help of thermal sensors, drones can locate lost persons.”

Some of the reviewed guidelines presented were that commercial drone users must register with the commission, the device should not be used near mobile base stations, high voltage power lines and around the airports and the recommended power limit is four watts.