NCC Gives Green Light For 5G Experiment

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has approved the frequency spectrum for testing 5G services in the country. Umar Danbatta, Executive Vice President, unveiled at the opening of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Digital Telecommunication Week, which opened on August 27, 2019, in Abuja. In concrete terms, telecom operators who so wish can soon test this technology to estimate their capacity to offer ultra-fast broadband services.

By making available the telecom resource for this test, Nigeria joins the very small number of African countries that are already preparing for the next global technological revolution, expected by 2020.

Nigeria joins Morocco, South Africa, Lesotho and Algeria whose operators have already successfully tested the 5G since 2018. From now on, only frequencies to fully market the service are still lacking.

This authorization to test the 5G by the regulator does not mean that the technology will soon be available to the general public. Nigeria is still focused on improving its broadband coverage rate to only 30% recently. Investing in 5G now could be counterproductive given the exclusivity that technology will bring to the market.