MTN Nigeria last week kicked off an open 5G pilot for customers with compatible devices where coverage is available. This is coming ahead of the telco’s commercial launch of 5G network in seven cities, including Lagos, Port Harcourt, Ibadan, Kano, Owerri, Maiduguri and Abuja.
The move by MTN is in line with the Nigeria Communication Commission’s mandate to the two firms that emerged winners of the 3.5GHz spectrum auction for the deployment of 5G technology in December 2021.
Whereas Mafab Communications, the second of the two licencees, announced that it would not meet the 24 August 2022 date for 5G rollout given by the NCC after it got a five-month extension from the regulator following the delays in receiving its unified operational licence (USAL) and numbering plan, MTN has gone ahead with a pilot phase.
The coming of 5G technology, analysts say, will usher Nigeria into a more robust Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) and a more digitised economy. This will accelerate and increase digital inclusion by enabling improvement in service quality, notably in rural areas, and reduce rural-urban drift, as more small businesses rely on high bandwidth connectivity enabled by 5G.
Benefits of 5G technology
High speed: 5G technology has the ability to operate more quickly on cellular and other devices. Contrary to its predecessors—2G, 3G, 4G, and 4G LTE—which required hours to download movies, videos, music, and streaming services—5G technology makes these tasks simpler and downloads just take a few seconds. In addition, experts expect that the global gaming market would benefit from 5G technology. With this technology, an average user can access up to 20Gbps of the internet.
Latency: Another key benefit of 5G technology is its low latency compared to its predecessors, which makes it easier to support other cutting-edge technologies like artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, and virtual reality. Additionally, because of its low latency, it facilitates browsing, enhancing the user experience.
Bandwidth: With increased bandwidth, 5G technology makes it possible for data to be transferred seamlessly, enhancing device connectivity and the user experience as a whole. Additionally, the technology improves performance by allowing users to switch between cellular devices and wireless wifi devices seamlessly. Additionally, consumers’ bandwidth would increase if there were fewer 5G towers.
However, there are risks associated with 5G technology, including limited coverage, weak upload speeds, battery damages, interference with airport and flight operations, and cyber security.
Despite being recommended as having the fastest speed, 5G technology’s present in only a few locations that have 5G towers around the world is one of its drawbacks. The introduction and implementation of 5G might take years because the testing, trial, and installation of 5G towers is an expensive process, even though international businesses and governments are working to ensure that all cities have 5G coverage.
