Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta, executive vice chairman/ceo, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has hinted that the commission is working with multi-sector Stakeholders to establish a policy for 5G Network that would enable Nigerians to properly harness its immense benefits.
Prof Danbatta disclosed this on Wednesday at the 2020 Nigerian Information Technology Reporters Association (NITRA) Virtual Innovative Tech Forum Webinar.
Speaking on the topic: “Multi-Stakeholder Approach to National Recovery Post-Pandemic” Danbatta noted that “The Commission is vigorously working to establish a policy for 5G with multi-sector Stakeholders, including the Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy, Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE), Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), The Academia, Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON), Industry Consultative Advisory Forum (ICAF) and a host of others.
“Our goal is that when the Federal Government is able to establish a policy that will drive 5G, all the benefits of 5G will be properly harnessed by Nigerians.”
He also disclosed that the Commission is also working to ensure the safety of 5G networks in Nigeria by having multi-stakeholder approach in environmental impact analysis on the use of 5G and the Electromagnetic Fields (EMF) impact on humans in Nigeria.
The EVC further explained that Nigerians will safely utilize 5G and reap all the economic, human and material benefits of 5G once all these measures have been put in place.
Speaking on the benefits of 5G, Danbatta said, “the economic benefits to 5G to Nigeria post corona virus pandemic will be huge, especially as almost all businesses and activities of government are migrating and offering their services online.
“5G will enable a new kind of network for Nigerians designed to connect virtually everyone and everything together including machines, objects, and devices.
“It will usher in the era of Internet of Things and faster innovation in Artificial Intelligence applications”.
He also noted that Nigeria’s vibrant youth population stands to benefit immensely from the deployment of 5G.
According to him, “it will offer technopreneurs, technology enthusiasts, SMEs and Tech-startups the platform to expand and network with other global players on a scale that has never been witnessed before.
“With high speeds, superior reliability and negligible latency, 5G will expand the mobile ecosystem into new realms.
“5G promises to impact every industry, creating safer transporting systems, improving access to healthcare for our rural populace, increasing output from the agriculture sector, and digitized logistics among others”.
He also cited a landmark economy study conducted by QUALCOMM, which states that 5G will affect the global economy and drive growth exponentially.
According to him, “5G’s full economic effect will likely be realized across the globe by 2035 – supporting a wide range of industries and potentially enabling up to $13.2 Trillion worth of goods and services. This impact is much greater than previous network generations.
“5G promises to provide increased speed and bandwidth as well as providing deeper coverage to reach people in rural or challenging locations.
“In addition, 5G will provide strong security for the various sectors of government and private organizations”.