By Adedapo Adesanya
MTN Nigeria said the adoption of 5G technology would accelerate operational efficiencies for businesses in the country.
This was asserted by Mrs Lynda Saint-Nwafor, Chief Enterprise Business Officer, at the Nigeria-South Africa Chamber of Commerce (NSACC) August Breakfast meeting in Lagos on Thursday.
MTN on Wednesday launched its 5G trial service in Lagos and Abuja, with other cities like Port Harcourt, Ibadan, Kano, Maiduguri, and Owerri joining soon.
Mrs Saint-Nwafor said 90 per cent of the addressable market for 5G spanned six key industries; manufacturing, government, energy/utilities, healthcare, media/entertainment, and transportation/logistics.
She said for businesses, 5G provided total independence from public networks, high and reserved capacity, enhanced indoor and outdoor coverage and a high level of security and control to access service infrastructure equipment, systems, and services.
She stated that 5G was designed to connect virtually everyone and everything together including machines, objects, and devices via increased speed, low latency, higher capacity, and innovation.
She noted that the future of business was hinged on the use of artificial intelligence for decision-making, smart offices, and high connectivity via 5G.
“5G is poised to offer innovation that would change our lives.
“It would engender smart manufacturing, smart metering and maintenance, smart cities, better route, and traffic management, enhanced experience and breakthroughs in tele-health.
“Particularly for manufacturing, it would enable automation for production and factory operations, allow remote monitoring and inspection, reduce operational costs, and drive competitiveness,” she said.
In his remarks, Mr Osayaba Giwa-Osagie, Chairman, NSACC, described the 5G network as the future of entrepreneurship and technology as the fifth generation of mobile wireless technology and the next technological upgrade from 4G.
Mr Giwa-Osagie said 5G offered speed and other technical details needed to run a successful business with increased capacity.
He stressed the need for businesses to begin to think about the impact it could have on their operations and harness its capabilities to drive efficiencies.
The NSACC Chairman noted that the global dynamics since the COVID-19 pandemic had greatly changed with businesses and persons more dependent on technology with the attendant remote work, increased online meetings, and a surge in e-commerce activities.
He stressed that in the light of the current realities, it was safe to say that technology was redefining the world and this had brought its adoption to the forefront.
“It is, therefore, important for companies to embrace 5G for operational efficiencies as new demand would lead to changes.
“5G is expected to impact businesses from agriculture to entertainment to manufacturing and a host of other sectors.
“It is fast, reliable, and enhances productivity at remote locations among others,” he said.
