Published 08 Nov,2021 via BizWatchNigeria – As the telecom world gradually embraces advanced technology, BizWatch Nigeria provides an insight into the state Fifth Generation (5G) deployment plan in selected countries in Africa
A tracking of major 5G deployment plans in Africa showed that less than 10 countries are making moves to deploy the technology that offers fast Internet access.
However, the GSM Association has estimated that there will be over 1 million mobile 5G connections in Sub Saharan Africa by the end of 2022 and 30 million connections by 2025.
Let us explore what’s happening in Nigeria, South Africa, Uganda, Mauritius and Kenya with regards to 5G testing, regulations, spectrum and commercialization.
Nigeria
* Regulator: Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC)
* Spectrum Status: Spectrum to be auctioned in December 2021
* Key Spectrum: 3.5GHz
* Commercial Launch Prospects: MTN, Airtel plans commercial launch in 2022
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) plans to auction the 3.5 Gigahertz spectrum for the deployment of 5G technology on December 13.
This was after the spectrum trading guidelines had been reviewed and 5G trials had been conducted by MTN in the country.
The NCC also fixed a reserved price of $197.4 million or N75 billion for the spectrum.
The telecoms regulator also gave information, conditions, obligations, financial implication, timelines and other necessary details on the planned 3.5Ghz spectrum auction. Mauritius * Regulator: ICT Authority (ICTA) * Spectrum Status: 5G spectrum licenses issued to three mobile operators – MyT Mobile, Emtel and Mahanagar Telecom – in June 2021 * Key Spectrum: 2.6GHz and 3.5GHz * Commercial Launch Prospects: MyT Mobile launched 5G in July; Others have not launchMauritius telecoms regulator, ICT Authority (ICTA) in June this year issued 5G licences to three mobile operators.However, Mauritius did not auction the licences but invited three mobile operators MyT Mobile, Emtel and Mahanagar Telecom to apply for radio spectrum that will be used to deploy 5G networksA total of 300MHz of radio spectrum in the 2.6GHz and 3.5GHz bands was made available by the regulator.Each operator was asked to specify its preferred frequency blocks and to state their commitments to network coverage.The operators were also asked to disclose their timeframes for achieving specific percentages of network coverage for mainland Mauritius as well as the outer islands.One month after issuing the licences, MyT Mobile launched its 5G services in Ebene, Trianon, Bagatelle, and Reduit regions of the country.The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Mauritius Telecom, Sherry Singh, […]
