Head of Africa, Global System for Mobile communications Association (GSMA), Barr Akinwale Goodluck, has argued that whereas 5G is a new frontier in the area of telecommunications, which must be welcomed, there is lack of a proven or probable business case for 5G in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA).
In an interview, he stressed that “there are several significant limiting factors for 5G value proposition.”
Business Hilights recalls that GSMA is an independent research body that represents the interests of mobile network operators worldwide.
Goodluck explained that all over the world, lots of countries have started 5G trials. We have seen commercial 5G roll out in USA, China, South Korea, UK, and others.
“Now, coming home to Nigeria and SSA, most stakeholders expect that commercial 5G network will be launched not earlier than 2025.
“5G in Nigeria and SSA is inevitable, but I dare say that it is not imminent. Aside from the lack of a proven or probable business case for 5G in SSA, there are several significant limiting factors for 5G value proposition. For instance, the level of densification required for a 5G network will require a paradigm shift in roll out of cells.
“There must be availability of power, and I don’t mean generator-driven power. We will start late in some part of SSA, but the beauty of starting late is that the region will now have the benefit of hindsight in terms of economies of scale, equipment would have been proven and tested, business cases would have been established, among others.
The GSMA Head of Africa Operations in Lagos argued that “The primary objectives should be optimizing our 3G, and more importantly growing 4G across SSA. We need to also build the pipe for 3G and 4G because capacities are still slow. So, for the SSA, I will say lets wrap up 3G, 4G, and let’s avoid a race to the bottom by starting a 5G race to nowhere.”
