Nigeria Eyes 4G to Stir Broadband Revolution

Though the 4th generation (4G) mobile technology is still being developed, Nigeria is already looking up to the technology, heir to 3G technology to meet the ever changing telecommunications standards and satisfy Nigerians hunger for more contents delivered to their portable devices faster, Nigeria CommunicationsWeek can now reveal.
Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC) said that Nigeria will be one of the first countries to license operators in the emerging solution to drive new growth of the industry, and help foster state-of-the-art technology, novel partnership arrangements or transformational business models.
Having conquered voice, Nigerians appetite for broadband internet access have continued to rise and the present 3G wireless technology (convergence of various 2G wireless telecommunications systems into a uniform global system) appears inadequate to meet the yearnings.
Poorly developed cable landline infrastructure exacerbated by meddlesomeness of various tiers of governments in telecommunications which is the exclusive preserve of the federal government has also helped to slow the growth of broadband in the country.
Ernest Ndukwe, executive vice chairman of NCC, said that 4G has the potentials to fast track broadband development in the country.
Nigeria CommunicationsWeek gathered that 4G will provide mobile users with ‘always on’ mobile broadband connection so that voice calls, media streaming and internet access will be constantly at hand.
Additionally, the download speeds capable over 4G networking should be far greater than is currently available on 3G or indeed any home broadband service provided by a landline.
Nigeria however would have to wait until 4G becomes a global standard. The use of G, standing for generation, in mobile technology covers the major advances of the past 20 to 30 years.
1G technology, for instance involved the first widely available mobile phones while 2G technology, which began in the early 1990s, switched to a digital format and introduced text messaging.
3G technology improved the efficiency of how data is carried, making it possible to carry enhanced information services such as websites in their original format.  The latest iPhone is the best known example of 3G technology.
Nigeria CommunicationsWeek learnt that 4G mobile is not yet established as an agreed set of standards, so its features are currently simply goals rather than requirements. As well as drastically increasing data transfer speeds, 4G mobile should use enhanced security measures.
Another goal will be to reduce blips in transmission when a device moves between areas covered by different networks. 4G mobile networks should also use a network based on the IP address system used for the internet.
Luckily, tests in China and elsewhere are showing that technology may be here sooner than expected with some results delivering up to 100 Mbps download speeds.
The better news is that this 100 Mbps speed is claimed by some companies to be the download speed available when the subject is on the move in a train or a car.
In the United States, there are two major systems using 4G mobile technology. One is known as WiMax and is backed by Clearwire, a firm whose majority owner is Sprint Nextel. It began testing services in Baltimore in 2008 and was set to expand this into major new markets this year. Sprint intended to have 80 cities covered by the end of 2010.
The rival system, Long Term Evolution or LTE, is backed mainly by Verizon. It was expected to be ready for testing in 2010 but not available for widespread use until 2012. LTE’s backers hoped to overcome this disadvantage by offering faster speeds and producing cheaper equipment.
Unlike previous generations of mobile technology, 4G mobile will be widely used for internet access on computers as well as carrying cell phone communications. Customers in areas which have strong 4G coverage will be able to use it for a home broadband connection which does not require any cabling to their household. It can also be used for accessing the internet on the move without having to be in a wireless hotspot such as those offered by some coffee shops, airports and libraries.