The Federal Executive Council (FEC) has approved the National Policy on Fifth Generation (5G) Networks for the digital economy with ratification to begin immediate deployment across Nigeria
As gathered, the approval followed the presentation by the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami, on the policy which was ratified at the council’s weekly meeting on Wednesday.
Confirming the development, Pantami, through a statement by his Technical Adviser, Dr Femi Adeluyi, said that the council also directed immediate implementation of the policy to ensure Nigerians enjoy the benefits that comes with the higher network.
According to him, the National Policy has been developed over a period of 2 years, due to the need for extensive stakeholder engagement and the need to ensure adequate public awareness and sensitization.
He added that the stakeholder engagement was thorough and multi-sectoral in nature, adding that the process also took into account the report of the 3-month 5G trials that commenced on the 25th of November 2019.
Pantami added that the report critically reviewed and studied the health and security implications of deploying 5G in Nigeria.
According to hi, 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 leave 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.
“The National Frequency Management Council (NFMC), chaired by Minister Pantami, will soon release spectrum to the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) for the Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) that meet all the required conditions.” the statement read.
He, however, said that the NCC, as the regulator of the telecommunications sector, would continue engaging stakeholders with a view to developing the regulatory instruments required for the successful deployment of the technology in Nigeria.
