Right Spectrum Deployment’ll Generate $565bn In Global GDP – Report
A new report launched by the GSM Association (GSMA), a global telecoms regulatory body has predicted that unlocking spectrum for the mobile industry to deliver innovative 5G services across different industry sectors, could add as much as $565 billion to global GDP and $152 billion in tax revenue from 2020 to 2034.
In Nigeria, the telecoms industry regulator, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), last month, announced the readiness of Nigeria to roll out 5G network with the appropriate spectrum such as the 26GHz, 38GHz and 42GHz bands by the year 2020.
The Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Pro. Umar Garba Danbatta, had said trial testing of the rollout plan had commenced in the country beginning with the Eko Atlantic project.
However, the new GSMA report noted that next-generation 5G services would improve access to healthcare, education and mobility while reducing pollution and increasing safety.
The report also said these outcomes would rely on government support for the identification of sufficient millimetre wave (mmWave) spectrum for the mobile industry at the next ITU World Radio Communication Conference in 2019 (WRC-19).
The GSMA report, titled: “Socio-Economic Benefits of 5G Services Provided in mmWave Bands,” was the first to examine and quantify the impact of mmWave spectrum on the overall contribution of 5G networks to society. mmWave spectrum will carry the highest capacity 5G services.
It has the ideal characteristics to support very high data transfer rates and ultra-reliable, low latency capabilities, which will support new use cases and deliver the benefits of 5G to consumers and businesses around the world.
Analysing the report, the Head of Spectrum, GSMA, Brett Tarnutzer, said the global mobile ecosystem knew how to make spectrum work to deliver a better future.
“Mobile operators have a history of maximising the impact of our spectrum resources and no one else has done more to transform spectrum allocations into services that are changing people’s lives.
“Planning spectrum is essential to enable the highest 5G performance and government backing for mmWave mobile spectrum at WRC-19, to unlock the greatest value from 5G deployments for their citizens.
“More than five billion people already rely on the mobile ecosystem to deliver services that are integral to their daily lives and fundamental to the economic sustainability of the communities they live in. 5G can offer more benefits and a whole new range of services to even more people, but this will not be possible without access to this vital spectrum,”
Tarnutzer said.
According to the report, mmWave 5G would not only provide consumers with ultra-fast mobile broadband services including immersive entertainment, but would also stimulate a host of applications that will enable citizens and businesses to do tomorrow what they can’t do today. These innovations will include enhanced remote healthcare and education, industrial automation, virtual and augmented reality, and many others.
The early lead already being established in 5G in the Asia Pacific and Americas regions are expected to generate the greatest share of GDP attributed to mmWave 5G, at $212 billion and $190 billion respectively. Europe is forecast to have the highest percentage of GDP growth attributable to mmWave of any region, with 2.9 per cent, the report added.
