Olusola Bello
The 5G spectrum award has been described as a critical component of the achievements of the stated objectives in the Broadband Plan 2020-2025 and the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy.
Both policy documents acknowledge the pivotal role the rapid and pervasive rollout of high-quality broadband infrastructure and services plays in accelerating national socio-economic development and the transformation of Nigeria into a leading digital economy.
According to Rotimi Akapo of Advocaat Law Practice, he said, Internet services in the country are currently provided on 2G, 3G, and increasingly 4G mobile networks.
“Though 4G coverage is available to 37% of the population, download speeds in the country are noted to be generally uncompetitive with other countries in the same income bracket.
Rapid rollout of broadband services, he stated will address various socio-economic challenges faced by the country, including the need to grow its economy, create jobs, rapidly expand the tax base, and improve digital literacy and educational standards.
“This will also address identity management and security challenges through the effective use of technology, increase financial inclusion and deliver a broad 9 5G Network Deployment in Nigeria”
Talking on the challenges being faced by the new technology, he said, although most of the challenges are not new and they continue to hinder the rollout of 3G and 4G services nationwide.
Some of the identified challenges to the successful rollout of 5G networks in Nigeria, he said, include – i. Low levels of Fiber Optic Infrastructure – Nationally fibre optic cable infrastructure deployment is insufficient and mostly available in a few cities and urban areas. It is estimated that to achieve full broadband penetration, 120,000km of fibre needs to be installed, given Nigeria’s landmass. Nigeria reportedly has a deficit of about 80,000 kilometres of fibre which needs to be met before effective nationwide deployment of broadband can be achieved.
He said part from low levels of fiber optic cable deployment, there are also the issues of vandalism and damage to existing fiber infrastructure from road construction.
According to him, he explained that the availability and affordability of 5G devices in Nigeria will be a major consideration for the awardees of the spectrum in the deployment of the 5G network. This he stated continues to be a major factor in the deployment of 4G networks and the position will still be the same for 5G.
“The effect will be the deployment of services first in major cities where there will be willing customers that can afford the devices and the cost of the service.
iii. Access to Forex – The telecoms industry in Nigeria relies heavily on foreign equipment manufacturers and imported technical expertise for deployment and maintenance of networks.
The cost and process of accessing forex for these purposes continues to be a challenge taking into consideration the demands on foreign exchange reserves of the country by other eligible sectors.
Inadequate Electrical Power Supply: The deployment and maintenance of 5G networks require higher density coverage, more base stations and additional equipment and consequentially more power demand. Just as with the rollout of previous generation networks, telecom companies will have to invest, now at much higher levels, to meet the increased power requirements of 5G network because of the poor state of the country’s power infrastructure. This will increase the cost of deployment and were not properly 6 Ericsson “Mobility Report” Nov 2021 7
As of December 2020, the total land fiber deployment was 43,898.8km.
The Cybercrime Act (Prohibition, Prevention etc.) Act 2015 envisaged the declaration of telecommunications infrastructure as Critical National Infrastructure with the attendant protection which is expected to curb these incidents.