Panic As Nigeria Prepares To Launch 5G Network

The Nigerian Communications Commission says it is working in partnership with stakeholders to ensure the safety of 5G networks in Nigeria in preparation for the launch of the technology.

The Executive Vice President, NCC, Prof. Umar Danbatta, said the government had started working on a policy that would drive the deployment of 5G.

The EVC spoke at a tech forum themed ‘Multi-stakeholder approach to National Recovery Post-Pandemic’ on Wednesday.

Danabtta, who was represented by the Director, Technical Standards and Network Integrity at NCC, Bako Wakil, said the commission would carry out an environmental impact analysis on the use of 5G and the electromagnetic fields impact on humans in Nigeria.

“Once this is done, Nigerians can safely utilise 5G and reap all the economic, human and material benefits of 5G,” he assured.

The Global System for Mobile Communications Association had predicted that seven African countries, including Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa, would have commercial 5G services by 2025.

Danbatta said that the economic benefits to 5G to Nigeria, post-coronavirus pandemic, would be huge as almost all businesses and activities of government were migrating and offering their services online.

According to him, 5G will enable a new kind of network for Nigerians designed to connect virtually everyone and everything together including machines, objects, and devices.

The EVC noted the technology would accelerate the adoption of Internet of Things and Artificial Intelligence applications.

“Nigeria’s vibrant youth population stands to benefit immensely from the deployment of 5G as it will offer technopreneurs, technology enthusiasts, SMEs and tech start-ups the platform to expand and network with other global players on a scale that has never been witnessed before,” he added.

Danbatta said the technology would have a massive impact than previous network generations.

According to him, the technology supports a wide range of industries and potentially enabling up to $13.2tn worth of goods and services.

Recall that there were rumours ongoing that the 5G network had already been approved which led to fear and panic amongst Nigerians.

The 5G network has been said to be harmful to the human health and very unsafe to use because of the radiation, however some countries like Lesotho are already using it.