NCC Working On 5G Report, To Consult Stakeholders

The Nigerian Communications Commissions says it is working on the report of the Fifth Generation Telephone Wireless Technology trial it conducted with MTN Nigeria in presence of security agencies in 2019.

The Director, Public Affairs at the NCC, Dr Henry Nkemadu, on Monday, said the report would be made available when ready.

According to him, a stakeholders’ consultation will be convened to deliberate on the findings of the trial.

The NCC and telecommunications operators in the past one week had condemned claims that 5G was causing the coronavirus pandemic in Nigeria and other parts of the world.

The operators under the aegis of Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria and Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria described the claims as unfounded and baseless.

They called on all Nigerians to disregard the information that was trending on all social media platforms, saying it was false.

Nkemadu had emphasised that there was no correlation between 5G technology and COVID-19 and described 5G as an advancement of 4G technology and had been designed to transform the world.

He said the trial for 5G in the country, which lasted for three months, had been concluded and installations decommissioned.

He pointed out that the commission had not issued any licence to telcos to deploy 5G network in the country.

The Chairman, ALTON, Gbenga Adebayo, explained that telecommunication standards were prescribed for use by the relevant international regulatory agencies after thorough and comprehensive tests had been carried out to ensure that all approved standards were safe for the human environment and health.

He said spectrum and frequencies used today by the mobile and satellite industries had been extensively researched and were discovered to have no harmful effect on health.

“There is no iota of truth that 5G technology is the cause of the coronavirus pandemic. The virus is also spreading in places without 5G networks like Nigeria,” Adebayo said.

Also, the President, ATCON, Olusola Teniola, explained that what had been done regarding 5G network in the country was a trial to examine the applications of the technology and was supervised by the NCC.

He said the claims of the health impact of 5G had not been substantiated by any conclusive empirical evidence by either the World Health Organisation or other health research institutions.