A leading consulting and technology integration firm, Digital Encode Limited, is partnering eBusiness Life Communication Limited and Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to organise a one-day forum on Fifth Generation (5G) deployment in Nigeria.
The Co-founder and Chief Operating Officer of Digital Encode Limited, Dr Adewale Obadare, said in a statement on Thursday that the forum coincided with the 20th year of GSM operation in the country.
Obadare said that the forum would look at the prospects of the 5G technology in Nigeria and proffer solutions to anticipated challenges in the deployment, implementation and use of the technology.
“As the country starts the deployment of 5G technology, there is need to preview all aspects and foreseeable challenges that may arise and formulate ways of tackling them to create a seamless technology that would drive solutions eventually.
“Their is need to ensure that security patches are in place for 5G deployment because of the massive and revolutionary services the technology will bring,” Obadare said.
On the nation’s preparedness for 5G deployment, the Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Prof. Umar Danbatta, said the nation was set for auctioning some spectrum slots in 3.5GHz band.
‘’The other day I was at the National Assembly, I informed the senate that the nation was 95 per cent ready for 5G.
“Today as we speak I am delighted to tell you that we are already at 97 per cent completion.
“It is expected that the deployment of 5G technology will spur services that will stimulate growth in different sectors of Nigeria’s economy including the health, education, financial and commerce sectors,’’ Danbatta said.
The Chief Executive Officer eBusiness Life, Mrs Ufuoma Emuophedaro, said that a panel of discussion would look at the infrastructure readiness of the service providers and expectations from the regulator and other public sector stakeholders.
She said that there was need to also know how ready the entrepreneurs, tech startups and other sector operators are to latch unto revolutionary 5G technology.
She said that the panel would look at policies in place that would ensure that the consumers were well protected in terms of charges and service provisions as well as collaborative opportunities.
Emuophedaro said the panel would address what the people would expect and how to tackle the expected rise in cyber insecurity that the technology would attract.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the forum with the theme: “GSM @ 20, Setting the Stage for the 5G Journey – Requirements, Deployment and Challenges”, is scheduled to hold on Nov. 5.
NAN also reports that Digital Encode specialises in the design, management and security of business-critical networks, telecommunication environments and other Information Technology (IT) infrastructures.(NAN)