FG Approves 5G Policy For Nigeria
The Federal Executive Council (FEC), today, approved the National Policy on Fifth Generation (5G) Networks for the country’s digital economy.
The 5G Policy was approved at the Council meeting, following the presentation by the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Ali Ibrahim (Pantami).
The implementation of the National Policy, according to a statement by the Technical Assistant (Information Technology) to the minister, Dr Femi Adeluyi, is with immediate effect.
The statement noted that the National Policy has been developed over a period of two years, due to the need for extensive stakeholder engagement and the need to ensure adequate public awareness and sensitisation.
“The stakeholder engagement was thorough and multi-sectoral in nature. It also took into account the report of the three-month 5G trials that commenced on the 25 November, 2019.
“The report critically reviewed and studied the health and security implications of deploying 5G in Nigeria,” the statement added.
It stated that leading international organisations such as the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), an organ of the United Nations, have confirmed that the deployment of 5G networks have no adverse health effect and are safe.
“5G networks offer significant advantages over the current technologies. Some of its advantages include much lower latency, higher bandwidth, greater device density, longer battery life for nodes and greater network flexibility.
“Several countries have already commenced the deployment of 5G and are enjoying its benefits. These countries include the United States, United Kingdom, Republic of Korea, South Africa and Lesotho, to mention but a few,” it added.
According to the statement, the National Frequency Management Council (NFMC), chaired by Dr Pantami, will soon release spectrum to the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) for the Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) that meet all the required conditions.
It added that the NCC, as the regulator of the telecommunications sector, will continue engaging stakeholders with a view to developing the regulatory instruments required for the successful deployment of the technology in the country.
