Implications, benefits of 5G revolution in Nigeria
By Tony Nwakaegho
The telecommunication companies globally have continued to research on wireless technology meant to deliver higher multi-gigabit per second peak data speeds, ultra low latency, more reliability, massive network capacity, increased availability, and a more uniform user experience to more users. This write up is to examine the emergence of fifth generation mobile network, 5G that has been enmeshed in a lot of conspiracy theories ranging from its origin, impact of health as well as its deployment, benefits, among others, writes Tony Nwakaegho.
5G technology known as fifth generation mobile network is the current generation of mobile communications technology, and it is designed to exceed the preceding 4G networks with new capabilities and specifications equipping the technology to support new and innovative solutions and products.
The most popular 5G deployments around the globe have been in the (3.3-3.8) GHz band, which is used by other communication technologies. Other bands proposed for the 5G deployment includes frequencies in the sub 6GHz range and above 6GHz, with ranges between 24GHz to 86GHz, known as millimeter wave bands that were studied at the ITU-R. These new frequency bands will in addition to enhancing service delivery, create additional revenue to Government
5G will leverage existing infrastructure when deployed in a Non-standalone architecture and subsequently progress to the Standalone architecture.
One of the most significant advantage of 5G is the higher bandwidths in some of the frequency bands identified for the technology. These high bandwidths will translate to its ability to transfer large volumes of data at extremely high speed and very low latency. These speeds are expected to reach 10Gbps which is ten times faster than the highest rates offered by the fibre to the premises networks. The most significant advantages of 5G are the sheer amount of data it can transfer and the extremely fast response.
A unique feature of the 5G which is the low latency will enable the utilization of 5G in critical control and remote health applications which were challenging with the 3G and 4G networks.
The response time for 3G is usually rated for 100milliseconds while that of the 4G is rated for 30milliseconds. Comparing this with the 5G response time rated as low as one millisecond, provides an enormous opportunity for the development of real-time control applications. This rapid response time is made possible by the higher available bandwidth and spectrum efficiency of the technology, as applications can complete their data transfer and allow other applications to access the bandwidth. Critical applications which will benefit from these advantages include automation, particularly in the healthcare and mining sectors, massive Machine Type Communications, and the remote control of industrial processes such as oil and gas, farming and manufacturing.
There are two infrastructure options for a 5G network, non-standalone (NSA) and standalone infrastructures.
A non-standalone infrastructure relies partly on existing 4G LTE infrastructure and brings some new technology like 5G New Radio (NR).
According to the standards body 3GPP’s Release 15 from October 2019, NSA architecture has the 5G RAN and the 5G NR interface working together with existing LTE infrastructure and core network. This means while only LTE services are supported, the network has the capabilities offered by 5G NR, like enhanced mobile broadband.
Standalone infrastructure refers to a 5G network that does not rely on LTE networks and has its own cloud-native network core that connects to the NR. It is expected that network carriers will arrive at a standalone infrastructure after moving through an NSA infrastructure. Using an NSA approach allows carriers to offer 5G-like experiences while they build out the needed physical infrastructure of a 5G network.
The mobile data traffic in Nigeria is on an upward trajectory, increasing exponentially year on year. There is thus the need for an effective and cost-efficient network expansion to ensure optimal support for this traffic growth. Cisco predicted that by 2020, global mobile data traffic would have grown eightfold from 2015 to 2020, a compound annual growth rate of 53%. This assertion is based on the higher flow rate of data, the advent of new systems and technologies such as the IoT and smart cities. A recent World Economic Forum report concluded that 5G networks would contribute $13.2 trillion in economic value globally and generate 22.3 million jobs from direct network investments and residual services.
There has been a lot of conspiracy theories of the 5G deployment globally as many has attributed it to be the cause of COVID-19
and other attendance health hazards.
Health and Public safety are very critical concerns associated with the deployment of Radiofrequency-based technologies; hence the World Health Organization and other relevant International agencies focused on public health and safety have developed and published guidelines for the safe deployment and operation of these technologies. 5G technology falls within these technologies as such there is a need for continuous awareness and enlightenment to assure the public of the safety of the technology so as to encourage its uptake and prevent the conspiracy theorists from spreading false information and fear among the public.
According to WHO, “To date, and after much research performed, no adverse health effect has been causally linked with exposure to wireless technologies. Health-related conclusions are drawn from studies performed across the entire radio spectrum but, so far, only a few studies have been carried out at the frequencies to be used by 5G.
Tissue heating is the main mechanism of interaction between radiofrequency fields and the human body. Radiofrequency exposure levels from current technologies result in negligible temperature rise in the human body.
“As the frequency increases, there is less penetration into the body tissues and absorption of the energy becomes more confined to the surface of the body (skin and eye). Provided that the overall exposure remains below international guidelines, no consequences for public health are anticipated.”
The Nigerian Communications Commission, (NCC) has a clear ambition to ensure that the Digital Economy Policy of the Federal Government is accomplished and one of the instruments for the realization of this Policy is the availability of a robust information and communication network in the country.
The Commission having identified the unique benefits and the role 5G can play in
accomplishing the objectives of the digital economy, has outlined a Plan that will facilitate the deployment of 5G Technology in Nigeria. The 5G communication technology is the next evolution of the mobile communications technology which is capable of creating new opportunities for growth in the economy by enabling new and dynamic business models and opening up new opportunities and markets as well as provides tremendous improvements in interpersonal communications with several innovations and services.
5G Technology will initiate several new changes in mobile connectivity with an enormous capacity to boost productivity and grow the economy.
These are the key reasons behind the Commissions drive to ensure the deployment of 5G in Nigeria.
Mobile technology has not stopped growing since the commercial implementation of the first telephone system in 1876.
It is estimated that by the end of the year 2020, global mobile data traffic would reach a monthly rate of 30.6 exabytes, as compared to 3.7 exabytes in 2015. That is a compound annual growth rate of 53%. Each mobile
communications technology brings with it, new capabilities that ultimately transform both work and interpersonal communications.
5G represents the fifth generation in mobile communications evolution and an incremental
deployment is expected over the following decade. 5G is designed to be a system of systems that will bring flexibility to mobile, fixed and broadcast networks and support more extensive data requirements. The technology will impact on the way interactions are done by enabling in some cases unforeseen business models, enhanced lifestyles all resulting in increased productivity. Some
of the technologies already being touted include automated cars and advanced manufacturing, Internet of things (IoT) which will enable thousands of connected devices, such as smart energy meters, work together and share information.
These changes and innovation have enormous economic benefits. IHS Economics estimated that 5G would enable USD$12.3 trillion of global economic output in 2035.
Therefore in line with the strategy of the Federal Government of Nigeria for the acceleration of the National Digital Economy for a Digital Nigeria and the positioning of Nigeria as an early adopter of digital technology and a major participant in the growing global digital economy, the successful and timely deployment of 5G is crucial.
It is expected to facilitate several emerging technologies, generate innovative new use cases, spur significant socio-economic growth, and job creation.
However, the promise of 5G is coupled with a myriad of regulatory challenges that need to be addressed before 5G rollout, such as spectrum allocation and assignment, infrastructure challenges, right-of-way issues, network security, privacy, health and safety, and so on.
In March 2020, the Nigerian National Broadband Plan 2020 – 2025 was released, updating and building upon the previous Plan (2013 – 2018). The new Broadband Plan unveiled a detailed strategy for rapid rollout of broadband services across the nation and sets goals for effective coverage, minimum data download speeds in both urban and rural areas, and data pricing, but does not fully or directly address 5G deployment.
The success of 5G deployment and commercial operation in Nigeria will be highly reliant on a defined strategy. The priority is therefore to create a Plan that ensures the advancement of 5G while also addressing the challenges and issues that are specific to 5G deployment.
5G’s characteristics will enable the implementation of innovative new technologies and services that can bring radical changes to industry, business, and everyday life. These include the following: Enhanced mobile broadband; Internet of Thing; Healthcare, agriculture, transportation, manufacturing, Business, Retail, Energy; Mission Critical Service; Virtual and Augmented Reality (VAR).
These applications require the real-time processing of massive amounts of data to render intricate graphical scenes, recognize real world objects, superimpose relevant information, and make sense of the complex input mechanisms for interacting with the virtual or augmented environment. The low latency and elevated data capacity of 5G will help to eliminate the lag, stutter, and stalls typically experienced by users when using sophisticated VR and AR applications over current (4G) networks, providing a smooth and seamless user experience.
Different Countries are said to have taken different approaches to participate in 5G technology. While some have focused on the development of 5G infrastructure, others have focused on the development of associated applications/technologies and services which either enhance the 5G experience or advances the 5G capabilities.
Early 5G Deployment Trials Globally
Some of the early 5G deployment trials include the following:
(1) Japan: The trial in Japan was planned for selected areas in Tokyo, and the aim was to evaluate the performance of prospective 5G technologies in a live environment. The country had scheduled to launch a 5G network in Tokyo on time for the summer 2020 Olympics.
(2) South Korea: Samsung and KT CORPORATION had completed early connectivity trials. The next phase upon the completion of these trials was the setting up of the first
Mobile 5G trial at the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics for 2018. All three Korean mobile operators are expected to launch commercial 5G service before the end of the year 2020.
(3) United States: Verizon and AT&T approached the US Government for multi-year licences to run 5G tests.
(4) China: China Mobile, China Unicom and China Telecom all announced 5G testing with telecommunications vendors Huawei and ZTE.
(5) Australia: Telstra, in partnership with Ericsson, tested one of the world’s first 5G Radio test beds in Melbourne.
(6) Sweden: Telia worked with Ericsson to conduct trials in Kista, Sweden, over a live 5G network.
There are about ninety-two (92) commercial launches of 5G networks in Thirty-Eight (38) countries across the world spread across all regions of the world as at July 2020.
In July 2018, MTN Nigeria announced that it would begin to commercially deploy 5G technology in Nigeria before 2020. Then in 2019, it conducted a demo launch in Abuja, as part of its plan to roll out 5G in other major cities.
While commenting on the planned launch of 5G across the country, MTN’s CEO, Ferdinand Moolman, had even stated: “5G will make our life better, drive incremental capacity, and open up new businesses.
“MTN as a company is constantly making efforts to break barriers by democratising voice and data connectivity in order to improve subscriber experience, and has invested over N800 billion in infrastructure in Nigeria.”
In Nigeria, the youth population and the Digital Economy Policy of Government presents an opportunity for Nigeria to focus on the development of innovating products and services which will be significantly enhanced by the deployment of the 5G Technology in the country.
Some of such approaches include, the setting up of technology hubs and the sponsorship of startup events and research projects for SMEs and academia to stimulate innovation among the youth and the research community in the country.
5G deployment is critically dependent on fibre backhaul. This is because the bandwidth, reliability, and low latency characteristics of the backhaul need to be able to match the cell sites to maintain seamless performance. It is therefore essential that adequate fibre backhaul is available to support 5G deployment.
In doing this, the measures enabling the rapid and cost-effective deployment of pervasive fibre infrastructure must be entrenched.
Right-of-Way charges should be harmonized or waived altogether, while other attendant charges such as reinstatement costs should be harmonized and cost based.
These will incentivize investment, in addition to enacting the relevant Funding and Incentives Recommendations of the Nigerian National Broadband Plan 2020 – 2025.
On its part, the Federal Government will have to provide an enabling environment for 5G deployment, but the MNOs will determine their own deployment Strategies subject to alignment to the approved polices and other regulatory instruments in force.
A core step stated in the Commission’s plan for the roll-out of the 5G network is a robust stakeholder engagement.
A Proof of Concept (PoC) non-commercial technology trial was instituted with key industry stakeholders to undertake a Proof of Concept (PoC) for the 5G Technology in Nigeria and the Commission allocated two candidate frequencies for these trials in six locations spread across the nation with the MTN Nigeria Communications serving as the Operator
The locations selected are Abuja, Calabar, Lagos, Kano, Abeokuta and Ibadan.
The selected frequencies for the trials are the 3.5GHz and the 26GHz frequency bands.
This deployment of the 5G technology on the Electromagnetic Spectrum in Nigeria created a need for the study of the electromagnetic radiation levels which would be generated by the 5G infrastructure.
These tests were conducted in accordance with the 1998 ICNIRP guidelines for general public exposure to time varying electromagnetic fields which were in force at the time of the trials.
Results of EMF radiation of the 5G Trial indicates that the highest radiation at 26 GHz millimeter wave at 5m away from source is 4.3 % and at 30m from the source is 0.142 %, while the highest radiation at 3.5 GHz at 5m away from the source is 11.4 % and at 30m away from the source is 1.9 % of ICNIRP Specification of 61 v/m for frequency range 2-300 GHz.
These results are far below the ICNIRP specification for protection of members of the public in the Guidelines and therefore suggest that no public health hazards are expected from the use of 5G in Nigeria.
In line with the Commission’s powers under Section 4(1)(q) of the Nigerian Communications Act (NCA) 2003, the Commission has taken steps to develop a Plan to guide the deployment of 5G technology in Nigeria.
The Plan on 5G focuses on creating an enabling environment for operators to plan and deploy 5G infrastructure and roll out services as efficiently as possible and to achieve the following objectives:To ensure efficient assignment of spectrum for deployment of 5G technology; To create an enabling environment for additional investment in the industry; To collaborate with relevant stakeholders to ensure nationwide availability of fibre and other backhaul infrastructure;To ensure effective deployment of 5G to cover major urban areas by 2025; To ensure the security of the 5G ecosystem and the protection of data;To ensure that international best practices and globally accepted standards and specifications are entrenched in Nigeria’s 5G ecosystem; To create an enabling environment for innovation, digital entrepreneurship, and the proliferation of impactful 5G use cases.
Gentechnews gathered that the current race to deploy 5G networks is targeted at providing citizens with the benefits of the technology while at the same time enabling the activation of the nation’s digital economy.
5G network also has the potential of facilitating the attainment of the goals of the Nigerian National Broadband Plan 2020-2025 as well as the objectives of the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy of the Federal Government. This capacity can only be achieved by ensuring that more locations in the country are provided with coverage.
It was learnt that 5G networks in comparison to the existing networks and generations of the communications technology are fundamentally different as the previous generations mostly relied on hardware components which often get outdated very quickly, the 5G technology largely relies on the software and cloud infrastructure to “virtualize” network functions.
The flipside is that the evolution of the 5G network into a primarily software-driven system presents new vulnerabilities to cyber-attacks, but the 3GPP Releases provide for the security of the 5G networks.
3GPP specifications ensures the following securities: Security architecture; Secure protocols; Authentication & authorization; Security assurance; Extendable authentication framework (EAP) for Subscriber authentication; Integrity protection of user plane mandatory on User Equipment (UE) and gNB
The Commission has undertaken to ensure that “all equipment to be installed for the deployment of 5G meet the approved health protection certifications through the appropriate regulatory frame works.
“Undertake regular public awareness campaigns to keep the public up to date with health and safety related information on the 5G technology.
“Ensure that deployment and installation of 5G equipment conforms with international best practices ensuring public safety is given the highest priority.
“Ensure the utilization of controlled deployment of base stations and using the infrastructure sharing model to optimize the use of cell site locations and minimize duplication of infrastructure.
The Commission Plan consultation document outlines strategies that Nigeria will adopt to facilitate the deployment of 5G Technology. It outlines critical strategies that will be engaged to enable the nation derive maximum benefits from the technology, while promoting public-private participation.
The Commission says it will continue to engage with all relevant stakeholders in the country and also maintain active participation at the different global forums to ensure that the benefits of the technology are maximized in Nigeria.