Nigeria and other countries in sub-Saharan Africa that have deployed the fifth generation (5G) technology to offer telecom services are set to share $10billion cash as proceeds from the technology which feature lower latency, higher capacity, and increased bandwidth compared to 4G.
These service improvements will have defining impacts on how people live, work, and play all in Nigeria and across the world.
South Africa launched 5G services in July 2020, and has since increased coverage to around 20 per cent of the population while Nigeria launched 5G services in Lagos in 2022.
Two other telcos, Mafab Communications Limited and Airtel Nigeria have since launched services riding on the same technology.
The Federal Government, through the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) generated over $847.8 million from the sale of the 5G spectrum. According to the Global System for Mobile Communication Association (GSMA), the economic impact of deploying the technology will be felt as it is expected to contribute $10 billion to the region’s economy, accounting for six per cent of the mobile sector’s total economic impact.
