In line with the memorandum of information (MI) prepared ahead of the auction of two slots of spectrum in the 3.5gigahertz (GHz) spectrum set aside for early deployment of 5G technology services in the country, by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), the two winners of the licences, MTN and Mafab Communication, have less than two months to begin service offering using the new platform. THE NATION reports.

According to the latest Ericsson Mobility Report, 5G subscriptions will hit one billion this year while it will reach 4.4 billion by 2027. Information Guide Nigeria

Nigeria will, however, be joining the race for these milestones amid huge challenges before the two operators. While MTN Chief Executive Officer, Karl Toriola, has restated the readiness of the telecom giant to roll out services on the 5G spectrum even before the NCC’s timeline, nothing has been heard from the second winner of the spectrum, Mafab Communications Limited.

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An opportunity for stakeholders to hear from Mafab was truncated last week at the 90th Telecom Parliament organised by the Commission in Lagos, where its official, who was scheduled to be on the panel, was missing during the discussion.

Like Toriola, MTN representative on the panel and Senior Manager, RF Planning, Chinedu Ezeigweneme, assured that the operator would switch on commercially by the set date, adding that it would deploy using a standalone (SA) network.

NCC Executive Vice Chairman/CEO Prof. Garba Danbatta said the International Telecom Union (ITU) acknowledged that 5G networks faced considerable challenges. The challenges include the requirements for more spectrum and vastly more spectrally-efficient technologies, more than what the current 3G and 4G systems require. jamb results

There is the challenge the ITU described as the intrinsic propagation characteristics of millimetre waves, which propagate over much shorter distances and will therefore significantly require a greater number of base stations with the implication that deployment of infrastructure will become more complex and will require radio equipment being mounted on diverse structures.

Added to this is the backhaul requirement since “considerable work is required for implementing fibre services and ensuring availability of wireless backhaul solutions with sufficient capacity, such as microwave and satellite links, and potentially with high-altitude platform stations (HAPS) systems’’ where they are deployed.

There are other challenges, such as the need for skilled professionals with requisite knowledge of technology, fewer numbers of 5G-enabled devices, managing expenses involved in 5G network deployment as well as challenges with security and privacy concerns. We must not forget that across the globe, what happened was that the deployment of 5G technology was received with mixed reactions and in some isolated cases hostility even in countries adjudged to be technologically advanced. This initial resistance was fueled largely by misconceptions arising from conspiracy theories. It is a challenge that stakeholders must collaborate to address as Nigeria rolls out 5G Technology Services.

The industry must, then, turn the challenges into opportunities rather than seeing them as obstacles, the issues that should militate against or slow down the deployment of 5G Technology are themselves opportunities that can potentially create new revenue streams or new subsectors in the industry.