FEC approves 5G policy for Nigeria
By Ibiyemi Mathew
The Federal Executive Council, has approved the National Policy on Fifth Generation (5G) Networks for Nigeria’s Digital Economy.
The 5G Policy was approved at the Council meeting today, Wednesday, 8th September 2021, following the presentation by the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Ali Ibrahim (Pantami).
According to a press statement issued by the Dr Femi Adeluyi, Technical Assistant (on Information Technology) to the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, the implementation of the National Policy is with immediate effect.
The National Policy has been developed over a period of two years, due to the need for extensive stakeholder engagement and the need to ensure adequate public awareness and sensitization. The stakeholder engagement was thorough and multi-sectoral in nature. It also took into account the report of the 3-month 5G trials that commenced on the 25th of November 2019. The report critically reviewed and studied the health and security implications of deploying 5G in Nigeria.
Leading international organisations such as the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), an organ of the United Nations, have confirmed that the deployment of 5G network has no adverse health effect and is safe.
5G network offers significant advantage over the current technologies. Some of its advantages include much lower latency, higher bandwidth, greater device density, longer battery life for nodes and greater network flexibility. Several countries have already commenced the deployment of 5G and are enjoying its benefits. These countries include the United States, United Kingdom, Republic of Korea, South Africa and Lesotho.
The statement issued by Adeluyi disclosed that, “the National Frequency Management Council (NFMC), chaired by Minister Pantami, will soon release spectrum to the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) for the Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) that meet all the required conditions.
“The NCC, as the regulator of the telecommunications sector, will continue engaging stakeholders with a view to developing the regulatory instruments required for the successful deployment of the technology in Nigeria,”the statement noted.
