Pantami, Danbatta, Emefiele to Lead Forum on 5G Plan by Business Metrics

• As Nigeria eyes share from tech’s global $13.2trn GDP

Key stakeholders in the Nigerian telecoms sector and beyond are set to brainstorm to actualise implementation of the National Policy on the fifth generation (5G) technology in Nigeria to spur socio-economic gains.

Following the recent launch of National Policy on 5G for Digital Economy by President Muhammadu Buhari, Business Metrics Nigeria has put together the second edition of its Policy Implementation Assisted Forum (PAIFo) to drive the 5G Policy to fruition.

The forum, slated for Thursday March 31, 2022 at Radisson BLU Hotel, Isaac John, GRA, Ikeja, Lagos with the theme: ‘Ascertaining Full Readiness to Make 5G work in Nigeria’, will be led by the Honourable Minister of Communications and Digital Economy , Professor Isa Pantami as the Special Guest of Honour.

Also, in a letter to the organisers dated March 1st, 2022, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has confirmed that its Executive Vice Chairman, Professor Umar Danbatta would be delivering a keynote address at the forum, while restating the support of the Commission for the project.

The journey of 5G evolution started many years ago and Nigeria surprised its peers in Africa when it emerged the first country to exhibit a successful 5G trial in November, 2019.

This was followed by many other regulatory steps and the latest are the launching of the National 5G Policy and handing over of 5G spectrum to operators for the rollout of the technology.

In its usual way of driving policies to fruition through active dialogue that will lead to seamless implementation, this forum will feature all stakeholders that have been identified as critical and strategic to bringing the 5G dream to a reality in Nigeria.

Speaking on the forum, the Lead Executive, PIAFo and Managing Editor, Business Metrics Nigeria, Omobayo Azeez, said: “The socio-economic benefits of 5G are enormous and every serious country will not only be interested in deploying the network but also strive to get it right. Since Nigeria is now leading other West African countries in the 5G race, we cannot afford any trial and error.

“This second edition of PIAFo is private sector-led and most probably the last gathering of stakeholders across various sectors before 5G is eventually delivered to Nigerians. It is our aim that the forum would unearth a nexus of use cases that will further make investment cases for 5G to power its coverage in Nigeria, while also ensuring that no stone is left unturned in terms of regulatory demands to establish and sustain the 5G ecosystem.”

According to the organisers, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) will also be delivering a paper at the forum to address forex shortage for importation of telecoms equipment that has remained a bottleneck over the years, and how a  special forex window can be created for 5G forex demands.

In addition, the Director General and Chief Executive Officer of National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Engineer Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi is billed to deliver a paper on application of 5G to the various sectors of the economy to evolve smart agriculture, telemedicine, e-learning, smart security and smart industries in the country to power the fourth industrial revolution (4IR).

Apart from the aforementioned, Azeez said that other participants include Mobile network Operators, vendors, data centres, Towers and Fibre companies, internet service providers (ISPs), Satellite operators, state government agencies, infrastructure companies, banks, manufacturers, advocacy group, data protection and cybersecurity firms and agencies, the press, among others.

According to Azeez, the event will feature keynote addresses, paper presentations, panel discussions, networking, Q&A sessions, tea break and lunch, and photo sessions. He added that it would be hybrid, to allow stakeholders to participate actively both online and at the venue. Visit www.piafo.com.ng for more details.