Experts in the Information, Communications and Technology sector have backed the Federal Government on its plan to deploy the Fifth Generation technology, saying that it poses no health risks.
They added that the deployment was an opportunity for the country to boost the ICT sector and the economy in general.
An ICT expert and Senior Partner of e86 Limited, OluGbenga Odeyemi, in an interview with our correspondent, said that 5G posed no risk to the quality of human life.
He said, “Till date, a number of people still argue about how much radiation the GSM technology emits. I honestly don’t think such things will go away, and truthfully, as with everything else, there are risks, but the consideration is always about the significance of the risks.
“Five G works pretty much like all the technologies before it, just a better and faster upgrade. Will it significantly impact the quality of life of humans negatively? No!”
He added that the 5G technology was crucial for next-generation innovations while providing more opportunities for the tech sector.
“We expect 5G to be at the centre of a lot of next-generation innovations. I think it will help the tech sector in Nigeria to further explore opportunities in the areas of AI, Internet of Things, Robotics, and Technology Infrastructure.
Most of our tech infrastructures, with the exception of government infrastructure, are outsourced to other countries at the moment, primarily due to poor power supply and slow internet connectivity. I think these will get much better with the 5G implementation.”
The National Coordinator of Alliance for Affordable Internet and a former President of the Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria, Olusola Teniola, said that there had been no evidence that the 5G network had any health risk.
“Concerns regarding 5G and health issues have been put to bed. Nigeria, like other countries that have gone ahead to deploy 5G network, has tried 5G with no evidence, whether empirical or substantive, that suggests that 5G is bad for health,” he said.
He added that the major concern should be ensuring that Nigerians could engage in the utilisation of the 5G technology.
He said, “With the evolution of technology, there are always concerns around the adoption of technology.
“For Nigeria, the biggest concern is ensuring that Nigerians are able to participate in this very enabling technology that would provide multifaceted and multidimensional solutions for the progress of the economy, development and employment for the youth that would be required to use this technology in the next 10 to 20 years.”
He emphasised the benefits of deploying 5G technology in Nigeria, saying that it would provide a vibrant tech ecosystem that would attract more investments.
– Punch