NCC holds stakeholders forum on emerging 5G technology

Stakeholders in the telecommunications sector on Tuesday in
Abuja held a one-day stakeholders forum to brainstorm on Nigeria’s
readiness for 5G and High Altitude Platform Station (HAPS)
technology.

The forum was organised by the Nigerian Communications
Commission (NCC),

In his presentation, Prof. Umar Danbatta, the Executive-Vice
Chairman NCC said the forum was to bring stakeholders in the
telecom sector together to develop a regulatory framework in
preparation for 5G and HAPS technologies.

Danbatta was represented by Mr Austine Nwaulune, Director,
Spectrum Administration, NCC.

According to him, though the 5G framework is still being defined
by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), there is the
need to prepare toward massive deployment of infrastructure
tailored to support the technology.

He said the commission had identified some potential frequency
bands that might be harmonised for 5G deployment, and therefore
suspended the licensing of those frequencies.

Danbatta stressed that this step would ensure that Nigeria was
not caught unawares when those frequency bands were harmonised by
standardisation bodies, key among these are 26GHz, 38GHz and 42GHz
bands.

“HAPS is one of the emerging technologies developed to
compliment capacity expansion efforts to improve broadband access
to both served and underserved areas,

“The technology is unique and promising, it is scalable and
customisable, and therefore often equipped with mission-dependent
payloads, which are intended to act as fixed stations, delivering
services such as high-capacity wide area coverage broadband.

“Relay stations, remote sensing, weather observations,
navigation, digital TV, within the earth atmosphere, HAPS are also
known to be low cost at its implementation and are expected to be
the next big infrastructure for wireless communications.’’

He said that it supports rapid roll-out and had the ability to
serve many users, using considerably less communications
infrastructure being its key advantage as a wireless communication
platform.

Danbatta said there was therefore the need for strategic
government policies, robust frameworks and required infrastructure
which was the reason for the forum.

In his capacity, Nwaulune said the technological evolution
toward 5G and the role of HAPS to increase broadband penetration in
Nigeria 5G networks are the next generation of connectivity in the
telecommunications industry.

“What we are doing is to bring together stakeholders, people who
are involved in one way or the other in 5G technology delivery and
the regulatory conditions to discuss with them, rub minds and to
guide us in taking further regulatory actions.

“There is progression, 5G is not about today, there are still
trial networks going on around the world, this is just to position
people to know that there is something coming in the very near
future.

“All the technology mixes are used in bridging the digital
divide and bringing service to the unconnected and some marginally
connected.

“It is the operators that deploy the networks once the standards
are set and defined, the operators will roll out their networks
that is when it is fully developed.’’ Nwaulune said.

Mr Austine Igbe, who represented the President, Nigerian
Institute of Information Communication Technology Engineers, said
the cost of not embracing technology was higher than the cost of
ignoring it.

He added that the nation must be critical of the health and
safety implication of the current trends, and must prepare to make
regulations that would protect the citizenry from negative
impacts.

The forum had in attendance a cross section of ICT professionals
and engineers both within and outside Nigeria.

NAN reports that a research by McKinsey Global estimated that
more than 75 billion devices would be connected to the internet by
2025, with global economic contribution ranging from 3.9 trillion
dollars to 11.1 trillion dollars annually.

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