President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration has approved the National Policy on fifth-generation (5G) networks for the country’s digital economy.
The policy was approved today, during the weekly Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting, presided by President Buhari himself.
Confirming the development in an issued statement, the Technical Assistant on Information Technology to the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami, Dr. Femi Adeluyi, said the country will as a result of the development enjoy advantages which include much lower latency, higher bandwidth, greater device density, longer battery life for nodes and greater network flexibility.
Dr. Adeluyi emphasised that the 5G policy implementation would take immediate effect.
He explained that the national policy took a period of two years to develop because of the need for extensive stakeholders’ engagement and the need to ensure adequate public awareness and sensitisation.
He added that the stakeholders’ engagement was thorough and multi-sectoral in nature, adding that it also took into account the report of the three-month 5G trials that began on November 25, 2019.
Adeluyi noted that the report critically reviewed and studied the health and security implications of deploying 5G in Nigeria.
According to him, the WHO and the International Telecommunications Union, (ITU), an organ of the United Nations, confirmed that deployment of 5G networks leaves no adverse health effects.
