Niger PNAF 2025: ARCEP Adopts New Frequency Plan

Niger ARCEP Adopts the National Frequency Allocation Plan (PNAF), 2025 Edition

On 11 May 2026, the Autorité de Régulation des Communications Électroniques et de la Poste (ARCEP), Niger's telecommunications and postal regulator, formally adopted the National Frequency Allocation Plan (Plan National d'Attribution des Fréquences, or PNAF), 2025 edition, through Decision N° 004/CNRCEP/ARCEP/DG. The new plan replaces the 2017 edition that had governed spectrum allocation in Niger since 2018, marking the country's first comprehensive frequency table update in nearly a decade and its first to incorporate the decisions of the most recent World Radiocommunication Conference.

For manufacturers, importers, and OEMs placing wireless and telecom equipment on the Niger market, the PNAF is not a peripheral document. It is the technical reference that defines which radio services may operate in each band, and it underpins ARCEP's equipment homologation regime. Changes to band allocations flow directly into the conditions under which devices are authorized, operated, and kept compliant.

Regulatory Context and Background

Spectrum in Niger is regulated under Law N°2018-45 of 12 July 2018 governing electronic communications, as amended by Ordinance N°2022-04 of 13 January 2022. That law assigns ARCEP responsibility for planning, managing, and monitoring the radio-frequency spectrum on behalf of the State, in line with applicable international standards. The obligation to maintain a National Frequency Allocation Plan derives from Decree N°2020-569/PRN/MPT/EN of 17 July 2020, which sets the conditions for organizing the radio spectrum.

That decree also requires the PNAF to be revised after each World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC), with the revision process beginning at the close of the conference and concluding with publication of the new plan within twelve months. The 2025 edition is the product of that cycle following WRC-23. By adopting it, ARCEP simultaneously repealed Decision N°010/ARTP/CNRTP/18 of 4 April 2018, which had brought the 2017 plan into force, ensuring a single authoritative reference going forward.

What the Niger PNAF 2025 Changes in the Frequency Plan

The 2025 edition is a complete technical instrument rather than a light amendment. It covers the full usable spectrum from 8.3 kHz to 3000 GHz and integrates the relevant outcomes of WRC-23, reflecting both current and anticipated future uses across each band. The plan is structured in four parts: radiocommunication terminology and technical characteristics; the international rules for distributing frequency bands; the legal framework for spectrum management in Niger; and the national frequency allocation table itself, complete with ITU Region 1 footnotes, Niger-specific footnotes, planned satellite bands and orbital positions, and selected WRC resolutions.

Two structural alignments matter for compliance planning. First, the plan harmonizes Niger's allocations with ITU Region 1 and with the African Telecommunications Union, reducing the likelihood of cross-border coordination conflicts and aligning Niger with the broader regional roadmap for mobile and satellite services. Second, the legal chapter consolidates the rules that connect spectrum allocation to equipment authorization: the requirement that terminal equipment conform to essential requirements, the homologation (type approval) procedure, and the monitoring of compliance with homologation standards and radio-emission limits.

What This Means for Manufacturers

The PNAF does not by itself issue or revoke individual equipment approvals, but it defines the allocation landscape that every type approval decision is built on. When a band's allocated service changes, the technical interface conditions, permitted power levels, and coexistence requirements that ARCEP applies to equipment in that band can change with it. Manufacturers should treat the 2025 edition as the new baseline against which product compliance in Niger is assessed.

The most consequential element is the mandatory transition plan. The decision recognizes that the new allocations differ from the 2017 plan and therefore requires ARCEP to establish and implement a transition plan over a window of no less than one year and no more than five years. During that period, certain bands may be reallocated, refarmed, or subject to new conditions. Equipment that was compliant under the 2017 framework is not automatically guaranteed to remain compliant once the transition takes effect, particularly for products operating in bands affected by WRC-23 decisions such as IMT identifications.

Practically, manufacturers and importers should confirm that each product's operating bands are still allocated to the relevant service under the 2025 table, verify that existing Niger homologation certificates reference conditions consistent with the new plan, and monitor ARCEP for the forthcoming transition schedule, since that schedule will determine the deadlines and any grandfathering arrangements for installed equipment.

Certification Impact Summary

Element	Status under PNAF 2025	Action for manufacturers
Governing instrument	Decision N° 004/CNRCEP/ARCEP/DG (11 May 2026)	Reference this decision in compliance files for Niger
Previous plan	2017 edition (Decision N°010/ARTP/CNRTP/18) repealed	Treat 2017-era assumptions as superseded
Spectrum scope	8.3 kHz to 3000 GHz	Re-check all product operating bands against the new table
International basis	WRC-23 outcomes; ITU Region 1; ATU harmonization	Align band planning with Region 1 roadmap
Equipment authorization	Homologation procedure and essential-requirements conformity confirmed	Verify current Niger type approvals against new band conditions
Transition plan	Mandatory, 1–5 year window	Track ARCEP for refarming deadlines and band changes
Type approval requirement	Unchanged in principle; conditions may shift per band	Maintain valid homologation; reassess affected SKUs

Timeline and Required Actions

1. 11 May 2026 — PNAF 2025 adopted. Decision N° 004 enters into force, repealing the 2017 plan. Action: log the new plan as the authoritative reference for Niger market access.

2. Immediately following adoption — gap assessment. Action: map each product's frequency bands against the 2025 national allocation table and flag any band whose allocated service has changed.

3. Within 12 months of WRC-23 cycle — alignment baseline. The plan reflects the regulatory revision obligation tied to WRC-23. Action: ensure RF design and labeling assumptions match the WRC-23-aligned allocations.

4. One year after adoption (earliest) — transition plan begins. ARCEP must establish and start implementing the transition plan no sooner than one year out. Action: confirm whether your bands are subject to reallocation and obtain transition timelines from ARCEP.

5. Up to five years after adoption (latest) — transition completes. The reallocation window closes by this point. Action: complete any required re-homologation, hardware adjustments, or product withdrawals before applicable deadlines.

6. Ongoing — monitoring. Action: track ARCEP publications for the transition schedule and any subsidiary technical interface requirements before committing new product variants to the Niger market.

   
   

Market Significance

By aligning its national frequency table with WRC-23 and with ITU Region 1 and ATU frameworks, Niger signals a clear intent to modernize its spectrum environment and keep pace with regional harmonization across West Africa. For the wireless ecosystem, a current, internationally aligned PNAF reduces coordination friction and provides manufacturers with a more predictable basis for planning band support, particularly in mobile and satellite segments shaped by recent WRC decisions.

The defining feature for the next several years will be execution of the transition plan. Companies that proactively assess their portfolios against the 2025 allocations and engage early with ARCEP will be best positioned to avoid compliance gaps as bands are refarmed. Those that treat the 2017 plan as still authoritative risk discovering, mid-transition, that products they continue to ship are operating under allocations that no longer exist.