THE Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami, has said the national 5G policy is designed to ensure the effective deployment of 5G in major urban areas by 2025.
He disclosed this at the second edition of the Policy Implementation Assisted Forum which focused on the national policy on 5G organised by Business Metrics Nigeria.
Pantami, who was represented by the Head of Spectrum Administration Department, Nigerian Communications Commission, Abraham Oshadami, said, “In summary, the 5G policy is designed to ensure effective deployment of 5G to cover major urban areas by 2025.
“Ensure security of the 5G ecosystem and the protection of data; ensure that International best practices and globally accepted standards and specifications are entrenched Nigeria’s 5G ecosystem and ensure that the required Infrastructure needed for the successful deployment of the network such as data centres, power, etc. are catered for in the deployment strategies of 5G networks.”
According to Pantami, the 5G policy captures all the necessary information guiding the processes for the deployment of 5G in the nation. He added that the policy aligns with other policies of the government.
He said, “Some of these policies include the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS) for Digital Nigeria, the Nigerian National Broadband Plan (NNBP 2020-2025), and the National policy for the promotion of Indigenous Content in the Nigeria Telecommunications sector.”
Delivering the keynote address at the forum, the Executive Vice Chairman of the NCC, Professor Umar Danbatta, said the government must create a pro-investment and pro-innovation environment.
Danbatta, who was represented by the Principal Manager, Spectrum Administration Department of the NCC, Joseph Emeshili, said, “The government (Policymakers), national regulatory authorities (regulators), and network operators must ensure the provision of robust government policies, excellent regulatory and operational efficiency as well as optimum network performance.
“As policymakers, the government should foster a pro-investment and pro-innovation environment, it should also consider undertaking its own independent economic assessment of the commercial viability of deploying new technologies (such as 5G in this case) networks with a view to providing a clear regulatory path and to enable all relevant stakeholders including the network operators to make informed decisions.”
Also speaking at the event, the Director-General of the National Information Technology Development Agency, Kashifu Abdullahi, said 5G would find usage in healthcare, agriculture, education, and manufacturing, amongst others.
