Nigeria to begin 5G network rollout in January 2022

Nigerian citizens will soon feel the benefits of faster broadband as the government has approved the deployment of 5G data across the country since it was announced that Nigeria’s Federal Government has approved the use of a 5G network across Nigeria.

The fifth generation of wireless technology, 5G follows the previous generations of 3G and 4G which led to the launch of smartphones and enabled faster browsing respectively. 5G is expected to be a lot faster than the previous generations due to its superior handling of substantial capacities of data.

Nigeria’s highest decision-making body, the Federal Executive Council, approved on Wednesday, September 8, a national policy on the use of 5G networks for the digital economy, with the implementation of the policy to take immediate effect, according to the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami.

The country is the third in Africa to accept 5G, with Kenya and South Africa pioneering the deployment this year. The move comes after a two-year development of the national policy, painstakingly researched due to the need for extensive stakeholder engagement, which were thorough and multi-sectoral in nature, plus the need for public awareness and sensitization to the new developments. The idea was to study the health and security implications of deploying 5G in Nigeria, and it seems the government approves because there are now plans to deploy 5G as soon as January of 2022.