Following the 5G trial, at Abuja and Calabar recently, one of the foremost network operators in Nigeria, MTN, in partnership with Ericsson, a multinational networking and telecommunications company, has demonstrated the prospects of the 5G network.
The event took place on Thursday, December 5, 2019, at the MTN Headquarters, Ikoyi, Lagos. Present at the demonstration, was the Oba of Lagos, HRM Oba Rilwan Akiolu, Mazen Mroue, Chief Operating Officer, MTN Nigeria, Sean Cryan, Country Manager, Ericsson Nigeria, Henry Ojiokpota, Lagos Zonal Coordinator, NCC and other stakeholders.
The Oba of Lagos, in his remark, acknowledged the role of MTN, commending how the network platform has spread its capacity, across the country, while, also, assuring the operators, of a safe haven, in Lagos state.
In an overview, of what the 5G demo is about, Nasiru Hayatu, Senior Manager for Planning, MTN, gave an assurance, of why the 5G model will succeed in Nigeria.
“With 5G and the rest, we believe that, the government will give us spectrum, in these higher layers, where there is, available bandwidth”, Nasiru observed. He further stated that, the government has made the spectrum available for MTN, to try, in the next three months, before full implementation.
“We are showing, by this demonstration that, it is workable, capable and we are sending a report, back to NCC, to ratify the spectrum level”, he stated.
According to Nasiru, the discussion on 5G is, not limited to Nigeria alone, as governments around the world, are beginning to make concerted efforts, towards what spectrum, would be suitable, for the smooth running of the 5G network.
“The availability is there, but the ecosystem of the spectrum is, also, driven by what other people are using, around the world, however, there are incentives, for telecom manufacturers, to produce equipment, in that space”, he stressed, concerning the availability of the 5G network.
Nasiru acknowledged that, the equipment that would enhance the 5G is, not yet in abundance, as the demo is, working on test devices, however, the moment the ecosystem is starting to build up, devices become cheaper, making the 5G, less expensive to operate.
“We believe that, in the next one to two years, with the harmonisation, coming from the spectrum’s perspective, the ecosystem, will build up, therefore, devices on 5G, become cheaper.
The demonstration, at the MTN headquarters, involved some case use scenario: The fixed wireless access, speed test, connected health care and industry 4.0.
The industry 4.0 demo, showcased how the Internet of Things, (IoT), through 5G, would improve the traffic system, (reducing gridlock ahead of time), ordering of items, at the comfort of your home, (finding and getting the best deals), packaging system, in factories, (improving specifications, for your specific design) and supply chain management.
On the speed test, using the test devices, at the same bandwidth of 20Mega Hertz, the 4G and 5G network, moved at a speed of 104 Mbps and 314 Mbps, respectively. This is an indication that, the 5G, is faster, than the 4G.
At the 5G demo in Calabar, however, with a bandwidth of 100 Mega Hz, the speed was at 2G. According to the MTN official who conducted the speed test use case scenario, the Calabar demo, gave a high number, due to the low number of operators, competing for bandwidth, in the state.
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