Four years ago, Ericsson released a report titled, ‘Making 5G a reality for Africa’. The paper provides a perspective on how 5G can be realized in Africa in addition to shedding light on some use cases that could drive 5G in Africa and the varying degrees of relevance in each country.
Ericsson made it clear that Africa remains the region with the highest growth rate in mobile subscriptions globally.
Flip to 2022, Nigeria has rolled out commercial 5G, thanks to the efforts of companies like MTN.
According to a report by GSMA on the Sub-Saharan African mobile economy, there will be 41 million 5G connections by 2025, which will account for 4% of total 5G connections in the world.
The possibilities enabled by 5G connectivity are guaranteed to create and sustain growth when utilized in Africa. The same report states that by 2025, Sub-Saharan Africa will generate $154bn in economic value from mobile technologies and services.
In the same manner, Ralph Mupita, the President and CEO of MTN Group, says that the 5G technology is vital in ensuring Africa’s economic development and actualizing its full potential.
He made this statement in a chat with the MTN Media Innovation Programme (MIP) Fellows during a courtesy visit at the MTN Nigeria headquarters in Ikoyi, Lagos, on Friday, 28 October 2022.
While discussing the recently launched 5G technology in Nigeria, Ralph Mupita, said, “It is important that we emphasize how using 5G for business-to-business applications and margination would be the catalyst for Africa’s growth.
I think we will find in five years, maybe even sooner, that on the African continent, 5G is what would enable economies to accelerate their industrial development across the educational, agriculture, mining, or transportation industries.”
“There has been quite a bit of investment into national 5G coverage where citizens and businesses of Nigeria are leading. If we get to 50% population coverage by 2025, Nigeria will lead many nation-states in the developed markets through the extent of national coverage. 5G technology will be a critical infrastructure in the country, enabling Nigeria to meet its promise and capabilities.”
MTN Group remains committed to ensuring subscribers can access and deploy cutting-edge technology that allows them to stay connected in a fast-changing world.
The desire to provide more than 280 million customers access to a modern connected life drives the leading technology organization to consistently provide diverse digital solutions that cut across telecommunications, financial technology, and enterprise.
The Group CEO and President also congratulated the Media Innovation Programme fellows on the completion of their six months programme at the School of Media & Communication, Pan-Atlantic University.
The MTN Media Innovation Programme is a fellowship for journalists (media practitioners across the entire spectrum, including social media), and it aims to expose participants to the vast opportunities in one of the fastest-growing industries in the world – technology.
In December, there will be a graduation ceremony where the most outstanding participant will be awarded a grant to participate in and cover some of MTN Nigeria’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives. In addition, Fellows will also have access to professional resources and mentorship from PAU’s SMC’s erudite faculty.
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