Is the powerful 5G coming to Ghana?

Over the past week, we have seen several letters released to the public by the National Communications Authority (NCA). These letters are talking about giving licences to some companies to expand 5G services in Ghana. The letters may be technical and hard to understand, but what we want to know is: how will it affect me? Will it improve my life in certain ways, or will it affect the economy positively? Even if it affects the economy positively, what does it mean for me? Should I be excited about the ongoing?

How the internet works, basically

You see, every photo or video you watch online comes from somewhere. For example, imagine watching a YouTube video. When you tap or click on the YouTube video, that video has to travel from where it is stored to your device. Another example is WhatsApp. When you send a photo on WhatsApp, it travels from your phone through a network until it reaches the recipient.

When using mobile data, your phone sends and receives information through radio waves that connect it to a nearby cell tower. The tower is connected to other equipment that helps move the information to its destination.

What is 5G then?

You’ve probably heard of 3G, 4G, and 5G. These are different generations of mobile technology. Just as 4G generally gives you faster internet than 3G, 5G can give you even faster internet, reduce delays, and allow more devices to connect at once. 

What is happening?

Unfortunately, the radio frequencies available for mobile communication are limited, so the government, through the NCA, must apportion them. Right now, the NCA is allocating additional lanes on our communication highway to companies like MTN and Telecel.

So what next?

After they get the license from the NCA to use the apportioned radio waves, the telcos will start building or upgrading their towers to support 5G. However, once 5G expands to your location, you’ll need a 5G phone to enjoy some of its benefits.

How does it concern me?

Here are a few things that will possibly happen when we build the towers

• Your video calls could become smoother, and videos could load much faster. Imagine watching a YouTube video without having to wait so long for it to load.

• If you run a business that relies on social media, uploading product videos and interacting with customers could become quicker and more reliable.

• 4G is okay for watching videos, but some technologies need much faster and more reliable connections. Imagine a doctor using a robot to operate on a patient in another city, or connected vehicles sharing information about road conditions in real time. 5G can help make such technologies possible, opening up new ways of doing things.

• Building the towers, laying the cables, and maintaining them require labour, so it could create more jobs locally. Moreover, if certain businesses can rely on faster, steadier internet, some of them may set up shop in Ghana rather than elsewhere.

The expansion of 5G creates new opportunities for individuals, businesses, and job creation. However, faster internet does not automatically mean cheaper data. The real economic benefits will depend on how widely the service is available, how affordable it becomes, and how people use it.

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