5G Deployment Will Create Opportunities for Economic Growth, Says Minister

Emma Okonji

The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Ibrahim Pantami has said the planned deployment of 5G network by MTN Nigeria and Mafab Communications Limited, will create new opportunities for robust economic growth in Nigeria.

He therefore urged Nigerians to embrace the 5G technology when rolled out, in order to benefit from the many benefits associated with 5G rollout. 

Pantami stated this during a Policy Forum on 5G Deployment in Nigeria, organised by Policy implementation Assisted Forum (PIAFo) in Lagos.

Pantami who was represented at the forum by the Head of Spectrum Administration Department, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Abraham Oshadami, said among other benefits, 5G rollout would create new opportunities for growth in the Nigerian economy, and it would be achieved by enabling dynamic business models and opening new opportunities and markets. He said it would also open up tremendous improvements in interpersonal communications with several innovations and services, as well as initiate several new changes in mobile connectivity with an enormous capacity to boost productivity and grow the economy. 

 According to Pantami, “5G policy is designed to ensure effective deployment of 5G to cover major urban areas by 2025, to ensure security of 5G ecosystem and the protection of data. It is also designed to ensure that international best practices and globally accepted standards and specifications, are entrenched in Nigeria’s 5G ecosystem.”

While delivering the keynote paper on the importance of 5G rollout in Nigeria, the Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta, said the theme of the forum, ‘Ascertaining Full Readiness to Make 5G Work in Nigeria,’ was apt because it came at a time when Nigeria has concluded all arrangements for a successful 5G rollout in the country. 

Danbatta who was represented by the Principal Manager, Spectrum Administration Department at NCC, Mr. Joseph Emeshili, said: “To ascertain readiness in the telecommunications industry, especially as it relates to the uptake of anything new such as emerging IMT technologies like 5G, there are three critical stakeholders that must synergize to guarantee success. These include: Government (Policymakers); National Regulatory Authorities (Regulators); and The Network Operators. These stakeholders must ensure the provision of robust government policies, excellent regulatory and operational efficiency as well as optimum network performance. 

“To achieve success in the uptake of any technology within any administration, governments are required to put in place excellent policies that will foster development and provide adequate room for innovation. As policymakers, the government should foster a pro-investment and pro-innovation environment, it should also consider to undertake its own independent economic assessment of the commercial viability of deploying new technologies such as 5G networks, with a view to providing a clear regulatory path and to enable all relevant stakeholders including the network operators to make informed decisions.”

The Director, National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, in his presentation on 5G Technology and the Digital Economy, said: “The global 5G services market is expected to become a $664.75 billion market, according to a recent 5G market report from Grand View Research. That means a compound annual growth rate of 46.2 per cent from 2021 to 2028.”

He said 5G would enhance further growth of the Nigerian economy in the areas of healthcare, education, retail, agriculture, manufacturing, logistics, among others. 

The Director of IHS Holding Limited, Segun Akintemi, said for 5G to succeed in Nigeria, the necessary infrastructure needed to be in place, adding that infrastructure deployment usually precedes new technology deployment and is highly CAPEX intensive, as 5G comes with its own unique infrastructure requirements.

In his opening remarks, the Lead Executive for PIAFo, Mr. Omobayo Azeez, said: “PIAFo relies on three pillars to define its essence. These pillars are Policy Advocacy, Policy Implementation and Policy Evaluation. The wisdom behind the PIAFo initiative is to create a platform for active dialogue among stakeholders to ensure that when policies are formulated, we do not just add them to our archive and then go to sleep.”