No 5G plans for Paratus yet
Paratus Telecom says it is not yet the time to introduce fifth generation (5G) cellular network technology, saying that the roll-out of 4G technology across towns in Namibia has been slow.
The comments were made by its manager for marketing and regulatory, John D'Alton, when asked about his thoughts on 5G.
5G has been deemed the new space race and countries like South Korea and Russia commercially launched 5G while Sweden, Estonia, China, Japan and Turkey are planning commercial launches by 2020.
Transmitting data at 10 gigabits per second, the fifth-generation network will deliver up to 100 times faster data speeds compared to what the best 4G Long-Term Evolution connection can provide today, The Africa Report noted.
“While taking note of the 5G arena, it is very prudent to also take into consideration that Namibia has seen an infant 4G rollout with very few national towns boasting access to 4G,” D'Alton said when asked to comment on the company's plans for 5G.
“Paratus will instead continue to focus on its core services, delivering much-needed infrastructure across Africa before placing an investment focus on 5G technology, which is still shrouded in controversy and potential spectrum debates in the short- to long-term,” D'Alton said.
Going forward, he said much is dependent on spectrum policy to inform future technology deployments, and especially so in Namibia. “There is a spectrum band plan for Namibia which aligns with the Southern African Development Community (SADC) band plan which is collectively dependent on policies and regulations established globally by global regulatory and telecommunication bodies such as the International Telecommunications Union (ITU),” said D'Alton.
The World Radio Communication Conference (WRC - 19), an ITU initiative, takes place in Egypt from 28 October to 22 November and has the purpose of reviewing 'Radio Regulations', an international treaty governing the use of the radiofrequency spectrum, D'Alton explained.
From this conference, a report will be made available, most likely during mid-2020, to provide guidance on the contentious topic of spectrum and its availability for new deployment strategies, he said.
MTC, which has been identified by Huawei as an able technology partner in developing 5G, referred this publication to Huawei.
MTC has been pushing the envelope and launched 4.5G in 2017, becoming the first operator on the continent to launch the service, while South African operator MTN has only trailed 5G.
“We will onward process this question to Huawei for their consideration,” MTC spokesperson John Ekongo said.
Huawei local spokesperson Elton Katangolo did not respond to a query when asked about its 5G ambitions for Namibia. Its senior vice-president for Africa Luo Lei last year said the Chinese technology giant was interested in developing the technology for Namibia.
OGONE TLHAGE
The comments were made by its manager for marketing and regulatory, John D'Alton, when asked about his thoughts on 5G.
5G has been deemed the new space race and countries like South Korea and Russia commercially launched 5G while Sweden, Estonia, China, Japan and Turkey are planning commercial launches by 2020.
Transmitting data at 10 gigabits per second, the fifth-generation network will deliver up to 100 times faster data speeds compared to what the best 4G Long-Term Evolution connection can provide today, The Africa Report noted.
“While taking note of the 5G arena, it is very prudent to also take into consideration that Namibia has seen an infant 4G rollout with very few national towns boasting access to 4G,” D'Alton said when asked to comment on the company's plans for 5G.
“Paratus will instead continue to focus on its core services, delivering much-needed infrastructure across Africa before placing an investment focus on 5G technology, which is still shrouded in controversy and potential spectrum debates in the short- to long-term,” D'Alton said.
Going forward, he said much is dependent on spectrum policy to inform future technology deployments, and especially so in Namibia. “There is a spectrum band plan for Namibia which aligns with the Southern African Development Community (SADC) band plan which is collectively dependent on policies and regulations established globally by global regulatory and telecommunication bodies such as the International Telecommunications Union (ITU),” said D'Alton.
The World Radio Communication Conference (WRC - 19), an ITU initiative, takes place in Egypt from 28 October to 22 November and has the purpose of reviewing 'Radio Regulations', an international treaty governing the use of the radiofrequency spectrum, D'Alton explained.
From this conference, a report will be made available, most likely during mid-2020, to provide guidance on the contentious topic of spectrum and its availability for new deployment strategies, he said.
MTC, which has been identified by Huawei as an able technology partner in developing 5G, referred this publication to Huawei.
MTC has been pushing the envelope and launched 4.5G in 2017, becoming the first operator on the continent to launch the service, while South African operator MTN has only trailed 5G.
“We will onward process this question to Huawei for their consideration,” MTC spokesperson John Ekongo said.
Huawei local spokesperson Elton Katangolo did not respond to a query when asked about its 5G ambitions for Namibia. Its senior vice-president for Africa Luo Lei last year said the Chinese technology giant was interested in developing the technology for Namibia.
OGONE TLHAGE
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