As discussions geared towards exposing ideas, solutions and
innovations that elevate our communities, industries and the African
continent as a whole continues at the ongoing Africanxt tech
conference in Lagos, the NCC has once again stressed on the gains of
5G technology to the Nigerian economy.
speaking at a panel session moderated by Dr Omoniyi Ibietan, Head,
Online Media NCC on thursday, under the theme; Forward steadily,
socio economic significance of deployment of 5G services, Tony
Ikemefuna, head, Fixed Networks and Converged Services, Babagana
Digima, Team lead, Nigeria Office for Developing the Indigenous
Telecoms Sector, NODITS, Dr Mohammed Suleh Yusuf senior manager legal
and regulatory services and Usman Aliyu, Head, Space Services,
Spectrum Administration Department NCC agreed that the benefits of the
5g technology which include efficient medical operations which can be
done remotely , improved agricultural technology as will be seen in
drones being deployed to farms, seamless distance learning, driverless
cars and more, as will be enabled by advanced broadband services, far
outways the fears of its health implications.
Addressing the health implications as it concerns radiation, Engr
Ikemefuna hinted that relevant agencies like the WHO and all, did
clarify that any electromagnetic radiation that is 10 watt per metre
square and below does not pose any threat to humans, he further
cautioned on the misinformation about the technology allaying all
fears
Dr Mohammed Suleh Yusuf senior manager legal and regulatory services
on his part applauded Nigeria for being the first country in Africa to
launch 5g, acknowledging that the technology will come with its own
cons which will bother around cyber security, data privacy, liability
issues , taxation and more. He further stressed the need for the govt
to protect the people from the speed of 5g without necessarily
stifling technology growth
When asked when 5g technoloqy will go live in Nigeria, Usman Aliyu
said it is expected to take effect 6 months from the date it was
officially licenced to the operators, that is from february 24th
2022..
5G which is simply the 5th generation of mobile technologies – is an
evolution from the previous generations of mobile technology: 2G, 3G
and 4G. 3G, 4G and 5G networks produce radio-frequency electromagnetic
fields which are used to transmit information. Despite extensive
studies into the health effects of mobile phones and base stations
over the last two or three decades, there is no indication of an
increased health risk when exposed to electromagnetic fields below the
levels specified by international bodies.
Research has it that the radiation emitted by 5G will largely be the
same as previous networks, except that it will be exposing us to
something called millimetre waves for the first time
.
