As the global information technology ecosystem rises out of the false claims that 5G caused the outbreak of COVID-19, to speed up 5G network development, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has determined that queuing behind the global trend in adopting 5G networks was best to achieving the country’s digital economic goals.
Recently, the federal government, through the communications and digital economy ministry launched its 2020-2024 Strategic Management Plan (SMP) on which it intends to drive the nation’s digital economic vision.
The roadmap would define the future of the sector, taking into consideration the current and emerging trends as well as the numerous expectations of the diverse stakeholder.
In line with global thinking and developments, NCC believes 5G represents the future and it will be the bedrock of future communications.
China, for instance, is ratcheting up efforts to accelerate the commercialization of superfast 5G technology as it has built 198,000 5G stations and secured more than 50 million 5G mobile subscribers nationwide as of the end of March.
GSMA, an international association of mobile operators, forecast that China will have nearly 45 percent of the world’s total 1.8 billion 5G subscribers by 2025, adding that the country still leads the world in 5G development despite the COVID-19 pandemic.
Thailand exchange views with operators on leveraging 5G and digital innovations to drive economic recovery after the COVID-19 pandemic, and to strengthen the ASEAN country’s leading position as a digital hub in the region.
The global telecom regulator, the International Telecom Union (ITU) is also of the view that when deployed, 5G networks should deliver more speed and capacity to support massive machine-to-machine communications and to provide low-latency (delay), high-reliability service for time-critical applications. Based on trials to date, 5G networks are starting to demonstrate high performance in different scenarios such as dense urban areas and indoor hotspots.
In 2015, the South Korean Strategic 5G Promotion Committee, comprised of members from both public and private sectors, drafted the “5G+ Strategy”, which unequivocally aspires to spawn development in key industries that will generate new services and produce US$152 billion in gross national output and export volume of US$73 billion by 2026.
And following the South Korean example about 34 countries and 61 operators launched 5G services by the end of 2019. Surprisingly, half of the 5G commercial launches in 2019 occurred in emerging markets, and 35 new launches are planned by 2022.
5G – is expected to connect people, things, data, applications, transport systems, and cities in smart networked communication environments. It should transport a huge amount of data much faster, reliably connect an extremely large number of devices, and process very high volumes of data with minimal delay.
It would support applications such as smart homes and buildings, smart cities, 3D video, work and play in the cloud, remote medical services, virtual and augmented reality, and massive machine-to-machine communications for industrial automation. 3G and 4G networks currently face challenges in supporting these services.
5G has the potential to provide 20X faster data speeds and carries a massive amount of data for a large number of simultaneous users. So users in high-density areas – like airports, stadiums, or urban areas – can still experience the fast speeds and low latency of 5G service.
As the world replaces more and more household items with ‘smart devices’ that connect to the internet, also known as the Internet of Things, this network capacity will be critical. 5G will potentially be able to handle more than 2.5 million connected devices per square mile. 5G is a transformational change from 4G.
5G will support businesses’ innovative ambitions and create new markets, transforming supply chain management and creating smarter, more efficient manufacturing. It is also a fundamental platform for the Internet of Things (IoT) — the rapidly expanding number of devices that collect transmit and share data via the internet.
Studies have shown that by the end of 2020 more than half of all new businesses will rely on the “IoT” to cut costs, build efficiencies, and grow their bottom lines. However, many of the innovations 5G technology will fuel literally may not be available yet especially in Nigeria. For the “IoT” to realise its limitless potential, 5G is critical.
