Nigeria, third African country to deploy 5G

On Wednesday May 5, the Communications Commission of Nigeria (NCC) signed its first agreement for the use of the fifth generation (5G) mobile internet connection in the country.

Nigerian NCC and NigComSat signed a historic agreement for Nigeria. Indeed, the country will acquire the 5G connection. This makes Nigeria the third African country to integrate 5G into its internet connectivity. In the case of the Nigerian Communications Satellite (NigComSat) project, it will be satellite connectivity. Indeed, the infrastructure of Nigerian rural areas, and the decentralization of the telecommunications network do not allow another alternative.

This means that this deployment, although early, will depend solely on state infrastructure. Unlike South Africa and Kenya, both of which have a partial network of cable connectivity which conditions the use of frequency transmitters. Indeed, although 5G is already operational in South Africa and Kenya, foreign ICT companies monopolize distribution. Since these same companies, mostly Chinese, have built the link infrastructure. The projects have also been funded by the Chinese CBD, for terminals, cabling, and even for software and devices sold to consumers by Kenyan and South African ISPs.

On the Nigerian side, Chinese support is more mixed. The first trials of the 5G network in Africa were conducted in Nigeria. It was a direct partnership between the state and Chinese mobile operators ZTE and Huawei. As for NigComSat, although it only launched its first satellites in collaboration with China, the company is supervised by the Nigerian Ministry of Communications.

 

Senate warns FG against hasty deployment of 5G network | The Guardian Nigeria News - Nigeria and World News https://t.co/KhGZXgQtOk

- The Guardian Nigeria (@GuardianNigeria) May 19, 2021

Deploying 5G: A well-crafted plan

Nigeria's telecommunications regulator, NCC, began coordinating with other state stakeholders since June 2020. A month later, the NCC contacted telephone service providers and ISPs in the country. In a few months, ICT players Nigerian have updated their servers and software to accommodate 5G. Indeed, the support of the NCC is scarce when it comes to costly initiatives. In view of massive number of internet users in Nigeria, investing in the best connection would have become obvious.

In fact, the NCC has said it has high hopes that 5G will "improve the way Nigerians live and work." Besides personal use, 5G has other advantages. In particular to industry, medicine, education and the development of artificial intelligence.

However, private operators have some concerns. Their doubts stem from past experience with 3G and 4G. Despite an early launch in several countries in sub-Saharan Africa, the two networks only became used for 2G only in 2019. However, in the case of Nigeria, the evolution curve was 5 times faster than the Kenya for example. The rise in the penetration of new telecommunications technologies depends on the users. It would therefore seem that Nigerians' passion for ICTs is greater than elsewhere. In Nigeria, the latest generations of smartphones sell like hot cakes. 4G penetration reached 80% of Nigerian users in 2018.

For 4G and 5G, the government is targeting 90% penetration by 2025. A modest and achievable goal according to the NCC. Likewise, thanks to satellite connectivity, provided by national infrastructures, the concern for coverage of rural areas would be less pressing.