“5G network will usher in a wide array of business opportunities, wherein various business outfits will expand their frontiers”
MAFAB Communications, one of the three firms that won the bid for the 5G 3.5GHz Spectrum licences has commenced the roll of its services in six cities across the country.
This is just as the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Professor Isa Pantami hints of the Federal Government exploring new technology to strengthen its onslaught on terrorists.
MAFAB during the occasion of the rollout also unveiled a new logo for the company which it said heralds the dawn of a new era of infinite possibilities which the technology offers.
“The rollout of MAFAB 5G network is the beginning of immense opportunities for the country as it represents Nigeria’s capabilities and infinite possibilities”, Dr Mushabu Bashir, Chairman of MAFAB Communications, said at the launch event, adding that “the prospect of increased job opportunities as a consequence of the value-chain benefits the technology will generate and offer is the dream we have all gathered here to launch today”.
While enumerating the opportunities which the network promises for Nigeria, Bashir said that the “5G network will usher in a wide array of business opportunities, wherein various business outfits will expand their frontiers with operational ease and speed, especially in the fields of education, medical sciences, engineering, security, businesses like the banking sector, SMEs, smart cities, transportation, entertainment.
He said this new technology will not benefit only urban areas but also meet their long-term goal of ensuring that even people in rural areas and villages also enjoy the benefits of this amazing technology.
The MAFAB Chairman reiterated that “it is no secret that the countries that can provide their citizens with the latest network infrastructure which the 5G technology represents, will also be the ones that will thrive in the coming years.
“They will be the ones that will stay competitive and the ones who will lead in innovation in addition to bringing socio-economic benefits to their citizens. And so, I can declare that with the 5G infrastructure, Nigeria will surely be a head ahead of many other countries, especially in Africa. Indeed, with the 5G network, our future as a people and as a country is remarkably bright”, Dr Bashir said.
In his presentation, MAFAB’s Communications Spokesperson, Adebayo Onigbanjo while unveiling the company’s new logo, stated that “as an operator born in the data age, Mafab will aim to serve our customers and the country by maximizing the value of the digital technology”.
“While 5G brings a lot of excitement about fast downloads, low latency and high speeds, our
promise is ubiquitous data for Nigerians. Broadband is now an essential requirement and our data native network aims to deliver this to Nigerians”, said Onigbanjo.
The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Professor Isa Ali Pantami recalled that on 25th January 2022, President Muhammadu Buhari launched the National 5G policy for Nigeria’s digital economy.
He said by 16th February 2022 as the Chairman of the National Frequency Management Council, he handed over the frequency spectrum to NCC, and they conducted a transparent auction where two operators emerged as the winners, MAFAB and MTN.
“MTN commenced the roll and now MAFAB has joined the queue, I congratulate the Chairman of MAFAB for his commitment to the success of MAFAB, it is absolutely difficult to have a new player who joined the sector within a small period and also to is competing with some of the active players in the sector”, Pantami noted.
He said 5G has enormous benefits for security institutions because there are technologies in security that leverage 5G which allows security institutions to properly manage security situations.
“So 5G allows real-time communications, and this has so many benefits to our security institutions if they leverage on it because there are so many technological facilities in security that they leverage on 5G to allow our security institutions to manage our security challenges effectively, like robots.
“There are so many technologies and artificial intelligence to help our security institutions. All of them leverage effectively all 5G, so this is in addition to economic benefits”, he said.
“Research conducted by Boston Consulting limited in the US in February 2021 has indicated that the rollout of 5G in the US will increase their gross domestic product within 10 years by a minimum of 1.4 trillion USD to 1.9 trillion USD.
“So the benefits of 5G deployment are beyond just quality of service. There are so many benefits because a new technology comes along with new benefits like low latency, very high-quality broadband faster network and it allows real-time communication or almost near real-time communication, 5G can help that
“Today using 5G virtual surgery is being conducted globally. They did this in the US and also in China. They recently conducted a virtual surgery where the distance between the surgeon and also the patient is over 3000 kilometres but the surgery was conducted successfully treatment of Parkinson’s and in China, they did it also recently”, the Minister added.
On his part, the Executive Vice Chairman of the NCC, Professor Umar Danbatta, said the Federal Government under President Muhammed Buhari has created a pro-investment and pro-innovation environment which has seen the emergence of MAFAB Communications and with its entrance into the Nigerian market is set to even making it more accessible.
The 5G technology is not just a mobile network but represents a new culture, in a new era of connectivity where billions of devices exchange data and instil intelligence in our everyday life.
It creates new, intelligent systems; and it can help to develop new advanced manufacturing
models.
