5G

Lagos, Sep. 7, 2023: Airtel Nigeria, on Wednesday in Lagos, said it had partnered with renowned device manufacturers to drive 5G adoption.

Chief Commercial Officer, Airtel Nigeria, Mr Femi Oshinlaja, said in a statement that the partnership was in line with the company’s commitment to enhance innovation, improve customer experience and transform various aspects of its customers’ daily activities.

Oshinlaja said the strategic partnership was not only to increase access to the latest technological advancements, but also to encourage consumers to take advantage of the vast potential of 5G connectivity.

“Our partnership with leading 5G device manufacturers like Samsung, Tecno, and Infinix is a testament to Airtel’s commitment to providing our customers with access to the latest technological advancements.

“We believe that through this partnership, consumers will not only gain awareness about the potential of 5G but also access devices that enable them to fully embrace the benefits of this transformative technology,” he said.

Oshinlaja said a notable highlight of the partnership was the exclusive data package provided for users of the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5.

He said for just N2,000, customers could enjoy a generous 10GB of data, allowing them to explore the vast potential of 5G connectivity.

Oshinlaja added that Airtel’s partnership with smartphone manufacturers had also enabled the introduction of the lowest-priced 5G device in Nigeria such as the Samsung A14 5G, Infinix Hot 30 5G and Tecno Camon 201 among others.

Abuja, Aug. 3, 2023 (NAN) The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has urged Nigerians to ignore misleading comment on the social media on MAFAB’s 5G roll out.

NCC said that the misleading comment claimed that MAFAB Communications, one of the companies granted Fifth Generation (5G) licences by the commission was yet to roll out the service.

NCC’s Director of Public Affairs, Dr Reuben Muoka, said on Thursday in Abuja

that this came nearly two years after obtaining a licence, and one year after the roll out date.

 “The public and all stakeholders should ignore the false and misleading information concerning the 5G roll out by MAFAB

“For a fact, MAFAB Communications is one of the two successful companies that won a 5G Licence during the globally-acclaimed transparent 5G auction conducted by the commission on December 13, 2021.

“Upon fulfilling the condition of payment for the fee of $273.6 million in February 2022, the company formally received the licence on February 22, 2022.

“Consequent upon the issuance of the 5G licence, and in line with the rollout conditions, MAFAB publicly inaugurated its services in Abuja on January 24, 2023.

“It took off in Lagos on January 26, 2023. At the event,  the services were targeted at six cities – Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, Enugu, Kano and Kaduna.”

Mouka said the commission has continued to monitor the progress of roll out by MAFAB and has regularly briefed about the status of infrastructure deployment for service offerings as conditioned in its operating licence.

Lagos, July 24, 2023: Huawei Technologies hosted the MTN Media Innovation Programme (MIP) Fellows to an exciting day of 5G demo experience, aimed at fostering knowledge exchange and inspiring innovation among the Fellows.

MTN’s collaboration with Huawei emphasizes its commitment to shared value initiatives for stakeholders through value-added business practices and solutions.

Addressing the penetration of 5G technology, Aihao Yin, Director, Business Solutions and Service Experience, Huwaei said, “The 5G penetration in Nigeria is still low, but it has changed the society so far.

“Especially with the use cases such as hologram from MTN, Internet of Things (IoT), AR/VR, etc.

“However, the main advantage is the speed, which is three times faster than 4G. Nigeria still has the potential for wider 5G connectivity, “he said.

During the 5G event, Huawei’s technical team presented a series of enlightening use cases that explained the wide-ranging impact of 5G technology outside Nigeria, and the plans for expansion in the country.

From healthcare to transportation to smart cities, the presentations highlighted the power of the technology in revolutionizing connectivity and enhancing everyday experiences.

In the week’s learning experience, various facilitators discussed telecoms and the ICT landscape (evolution from 2G-5G), Internet of Things (IoT), blockchain technology, business revenue models technology, and 5G use cases in Nigeria.

These sessions provided hands-on experience on the advancements enabled by 5G technology and its transformative potential across various industries.

The fellows were also awarded certificates on 5G industry progress and use cases training by Huawei.

The MTN Media Innovation Programme is a fully funded 6-week long programme spread across six months for media practitioners in the Nigerian space.

The second edition, which commenced in May 2023, has enlightened the fellows on the necessary convergence between ICT and the media, sensationalism and fake news.

The show showcased advanced media reporting, corporate communication strategies, media laws and taxation, business journalism, and digital skills, among other subject matters, so far.

Lagos, June 20, 2023: The adoption of 5G technology has been projected to increase efficiencies of Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) and large scale industries across various verticals in Nigeria.

Mrs Onyinye Ikenna-Emeka, General Manager, Fixed Broadband, MTN Nigeria communications, said this at the Nigerian-British Chamber of Commerce (NBCC) Thought Leadership Programme on Tuesday in Lagos.

The event has the theme: “Impact of 5G on the Nigerian Economy”.

According to Ikenna-Emeka, the journey from 1G to 5G showcases humanity’s relentless pursuit of technological advancement and underscores the profound impact it has had on shaping modern society.

She stated that beyond smartphones, 5G had the potential to revolutionise many industries as it enabled advancements in fields like autonomous vehicles, remote healthcare, smart cities, virtual reality, and more.

She noted that the criticality of SMEs in driving the economy of any nation puts it in a position to benefit from any technological advancement there was to harness its potentials and increase its contributions to Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

“As a result, MTN prides itself in co-developing solutions such as 5G adoption to help these class of businesses achieve the needed efficiencies and effectiveness to drive their success.

“5G is very relevant to industrialisation as it digitise processes via internet of things as devices interact with each other in real time therefore playing a large role to galvanise the economy and create more opportunities.

“In today’s world, information is key, decision making needs to be effective, prompt as it can be and this can be achieved via data which 5G gives room to analyse, consume and interpret across various sectors of the economy.

“5G is a real enabler as it enables the digital ecosystem and with its various levels of industrial automation, businesses need to start to utilise these data driven solutions that engenders opportunity for competitiveness,” she said.

Ikenna-Emeka also said that the evolution of 5G would not replace job opportunities but rather create many new opportunities that required technological up-skilling.

According to her, what is important is that you have the skill necessary to be successful in a technologically dynamic environment.

“Organisations are ensuring that the skills that are adopted are relevant in a digitally advanced world.

“So, it won’t displace jobs but will create opportunities and what I will say is that humans should just continue to up-skill, re-skill and learn new things,” she said.

She also charged organisations to invest in infrastructure that guaranteed cyber security, become acute and alert to it.

According to her, 5G does not have a role on its own to play in providing for those risks.

Ikenna-Emeka reiterated MTN’s commitment to continue to expand on 5G technology coverage across the country and partner with government and other stakeholders in the technology space to drive its penetration.

She, however, stressed that challenges with vandalism of technological infrastructure must be addressed to encourage more investments in the space.

She noted that South Africa had different use cases of 5G within the mining ecosystem to ensure efficiency and digitalisation to drive their processes.

“In the case of Nigeria, we have to ensure that the environment is such that provides for the expression of these use cases that 5G technology can provide.

“The enterprise use cases require a bit more structuring by aggregating data, digitalising processes among others.

“Close to us in Nigeria is the availability of private networks to find expression in oil and gas environment, create smart cities, smart taxation, smart ticketing, smart primary health care facilities and others.

“Our job is to continue to work with government, businesses to provide the use cases that can drive the country forward,” she said.

President, NBCC, Ms Bisi Adeyemi, said the event was to provide a systematic approach to sharing new ideas and compelling solutions with NBCC members and the general public.

Adeyemi added that the theme was borne out of the need to bridge the knowledge gap and take full advantage of the opportunities that the adoption of technology presents.

She described Nigeria as the largest economy in Africa, with a young, vibrant, and tech-savvy population, and noted government’s commitment to developing the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector.

“5G is the fifth generation of wireless technology, which promises to revolutionise the way we live and work.

“The technology brings faster internet speed, lower latency, and greater capacity, all of which will enable the deployment of new applications and spur innovation.

“The deployment of 5G technology in Nigeria is expected to create new opportunities across all sectors of the economy and today, we will be exploring the potential impact of 5G on the Nigerian economy,” she said.

The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof. Ali Pantami, said that the Federal Government has generated over 500 million dollars from the 5G Spectrum licence auction.

He stated this at a news conference on the implication of unauthorised use and sale of private mobile radio, on Friday in Kano.

Represented by Dr Famous Eseduwo, Director, Human Resources in the ministry, Pantami said the 5G Spectrum could support Nigeria’s economy if well managed.

The minister said, “Spectrum licence is required to transmit radio waves within assigned spectrum so that the economic benefits can be harnessed.

“When the 5G network is deployed, the benefits are huge and create opportunities to engender accelerated growth and smart living in the country.

“The technology is also expected to bring substantial network improvements, including higher connection speed, mobility, capacity and low latency capabilities.

“5G network will play an integral part in speeding up wireless communication, enabling virtual reality and connecting millions of devices we use today,” he said.

Pantami described 5G Spectrum as critical national assest and warned against its misuse, saying,” the control of Spectrum is vested with federal government, in line with the constitution”.

He, therefore, advised Nigerians to obtain appropriate licence from the Federal Ministry of Communications to guard against loss of revenues, warning that unauthorised users would be prosecuted.

The event was part of the nationwide sensitisation by the ministry to create awareness against unauthorised use of private mobile radio.