NCC to Introduce 5G Mobile Network

Ololade Adeyanju/

The Nigerian Communitions Commission (NCC) said it was already working on introducing the 5G mobile communications network in the country.

This was revealed by the commission’s Executive Commissioner in charge of Stakeholder Management, Mr. Sunday Dare, at the Annual Lecture of Mass Communication Students Association, held at the Biodun Shobanjo Hall, University of Lagos, on Friday.

Dare, who delivered a keynote speech, entitled: Imagery and National Cohesion in the Age of Communication Technology, said the NCC has “put in place a robust strategy to explore for the benefit of all Nigerians, the huge possibilities of 5G networks”, which he described as the next evolution of mobile broadband.

Speaking through the NCC’s Head of Online Media and Special Publications, Mr. Omoniyi Ibietan, Dare said the commission has also instituted clear processes to make broadband “available, accessible and affordable in all nooks and crannies of Nigeria”.

He explained that “two slots in the 700MHz band have been earmarked for Commercial Broadband deployment, while the 800MHz band also known as the Digital Dividend 1 has been re-planned and licensed for Long Term Evolution (LTE) deployment”.

The LTD is a wireless technology designed to support roaming Internet access by cell phones and handheld devices, he noted.

While outlining the vision of the commission, Dare said: “To have access and optimise the opportunities locked up on the Internet, you require robust broadband. One evidence of the centrality of technology in contemporary world is the fact that the most innovative countries are the most advanced and prosperous because investments in technology and innovations have been major sources of wealth creation.

“To underscore this point, we can easily recall that the top four most capitalised companies in the world are communication technology firms, namely, Microsoft, Apple, Google and Facebook.”

Also speaking on the commission’s efforts in addressing current challenges faced by telecom consumers, Dare observed that “the declaration of 2017 as the ‘Year of the Nigerian Telecom Consumer’ by the Nigerian Communications Commission speaks to the preeminence of the consumer in the comity of the industry stakeholders. It is a statement of commitment by the Commission to back Nigerians all the way as the citizens tap into the limitless possibilities offered by new technologies.”

He further noted: “The advent of ICTs gave birth to greater possibilities of exploring our world. The pervasiveness of ICT tools in almost all spheres: media, health, education, finance and banking, governance, entertainment and agriculture has opened up our world to great opportunities. Whether through imagery or other digital means, we are able to perform our tasks smarter.”

“This ICT revolution now plays out in the emerging smart world we live in. We have smart phones, smart cities, smart governance and smart cars. Today, humanity is at the threshold of the Internet of Things (IOT) that promises the interconnectedness of virtually everything via a smart technology process. So, welcome again to the smart world. And be primed to explore its limitless possibilities and opportunities”, Dare added.

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