Experts Seek Effective Spectrum Management for 5G Deployment

Experts in the telecommunications sector have called for effective understanding of spectrum management is very key to the smooth deployment of fifth generation (5G) mobile technology.

The telecom experts who gathered at a five-day virtual masterclass organised by Tetconsult, a consulting firm, brainstormed on the challenges and opportunities of 5G in the country and Africa at large.

Shola Taylor, chief executive officer of Tetconsult and immediate past secretary-general of the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organization (CTO), said effective spectrum management is the panacea to the smooth running of today’s ICT landscape the world over.

Taylor said, “Spectrum is the oxygen of the ICT world today and efficiency is the key for spectrum managers thus they need to be fully skilled to allocate the scarce resource efficiently.”

Participants rated the master class excellent citing how it helps with their day-to- day assignments.

According to Rodine Renner, deputy director, ICT at PURA, Gambia,  the training is the spectrum manager’s one stop shop training program.

Mohammad Ayoub, another participant, Spectrum manager at TRB, Lebanon, submitted that the topics addressed by the program are fundamental to frequency management and are presented in a detailed, smooth and enjoyable manner.

For Kaltumi Giwa, an engineer at the National Broadcasting Commission, (NBC) Nigeria, “the training stairs up in the regulator/ spectrum manager the desire to efficiently manage RF spectrum, awakening the need to take the dynamic technological landscape into consideration.”

Taylor, who was the lead facilitator, said it has become pertinent to have such a knowledge impact on the sector at a time like this when 5G spectrum licensing is around the corner, adding that, “auctions have increasingly become the most transparent method of awarding spectrum licences with benefits to consumers, governments, regulators and society at large.”

Industry speakers at the event include MTN Group South Africa, European Broadcasting Union, Inmarsat UK, International Amateur Radio Union and Liviasoft Technologies, USA. Technocrats who are the custodians of spectrum management across Africa, Asia, Europe, the Pacific and USA participated.