Nigeria has picked up the pace to join Kenya and South Africa to become one of the countries deploying 5G in Africa.
The country’s latest move to prepare for national activation of 5G took place early May, when its communications agency signed a memorandum of understanding with communications satellite firm NigcomSat, to enable 5G services to ride on its C-band frequency spectrum (this spectrum represents 60-70% of the commercial deployment of 5G networks globally).
In 2019, Nigeria became the first West African country to launch 5G network trials when its biggest telecoms provider, MTN Nigeria, carried out spectrum tests in its offices in different locations. With support from mobile operators like Huawei, ZTE and Ericsson, the initial trials were successful.
Nigerian regulators have been quick to welcome the possibilities and promises of greater speed, upgraded capacity, and reduced latency that accompany the 5th generation of mobile technology. The NCC has high hopes that the tech will “improve the way Nigerians live and work” by advancing smart transportation, medicine, manufacturing, the internet of things, and more.
