Is 5G The Next Level Of Africa’s Connectivity?

Due to public demand, CIO East Africa will again on the 30th of June 2020, at 3.00 PM EAT, host a webinar to demystify 5G as the next big thing in Africa’s connectivity. Happening for the second time, the 5G connectivity webinar premiered on 11th June 2020 at the same time.

This high-level session targets the IT Enterprise leadership community in East Africa, to explore the status, gaps, and opportunities of 5G in the continent. It will additionally explore the regulatory aspect of the new technology as will be guided by government representatives from the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA).

Speaking at the free to attend webinar include; Tom Olwero, the Director of Frequency Spectrum Management at Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) together with Adam Lane, the Senior Director of Public Affairs for the Southern Africa at Huawei Technologies, based in Nairobi. Also speaking will be Dr Bello Moussa, the Senior Director of Innovation and ICT Strategies at Huawei in Southern Africa.

Huawei prides itself as a supplier and enabler for the 5G technology with the giant Kenyan telco, Safaricom, having committed to starting 5G rollout in the country in the course of this year.

The Chinese company is reported to have launched 5G stations without US components after US blacklisted it, limiting its access to components like microprocessors and Google services.

Lane recently spoke about 5G at a webinar hosted by the Kenya ICT Action Network in partnership with Huawei noting that; “Many countries have developed 5G national strategies; indeed it is becoming a cornerstone of national development strategies. The contributions estimated by different countries are quite staggering, and some countries have even analyzed how much greater the benefits would be from a quick roll-out compared to a slow roll-out.”

The 90-minute interactive session on 5G, whence Lane together with other specialists shared ideas, was themed to explore 5G connectivity, its myths, realities, and opportunities in the continent.

With its rapid, low latency, and high throughput transmission ability, 5G is the undisputed linchpin in the world of wireless communication. As opposed to its predecessor the 4G, 5G is capable of transmitting data at 10 gigabits per second, delivering up to a hundred times faster data speeds.

Experts predict that 5G could help to revolutionize several industries, including manufacturing, agriculture, transport, and even the health sector. By leveraging automation and communication between self-driving vehicles to regulate traffic or real-time surgical operations performed on patients in different time zones, 5G will be a reality.

With the novel coronavirus, the world has to change its usual ways and adopt a new way of life that inclines towards electronically powered or enabled assisted lifestyles. We must now learn electronically (E-learning), do online shopping, and use video-calling applications for meetings, among others.

Asked to comment on the 5G technology, Fida Kibbi, the Vice President and Head of Marketing at Ericsson’s in the Middle East and Africa region once said; “It’s going to be a revolutionary technology! We will see many startups and many business models like the Ubers and the Airbnbs happening – a small team will be sitting in a small country in Africa having a huge global business.”

Be part of this revolution as demanded by the public to help see Africa adopt the ‘Next Level of Excellent Connectivity’.