Spectrum allocation needed urgently in sub-Saharan Africa
GMSA says the region is expected to lag the rest of the world, with 3G accounting for 60% of the region's connections by 2025
The global mobile industry body has urged sub-Saharan African countries to move swiftly in the allocation of spectrum to the mobile industry to enable the roll-out of 5G technology. 5G is the latest generation of mobile technology that promises fast device speeds as well as high-quality downloads and video calls. It succeeds the 4G, 3G and 2G systems. In a report published on Monday at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Groupe Spéciale Mobile Association (GMSA) said sub-Saharan Africa was expected to lag the rest of the world, with 3G expected to account for 60% of the region's connections by 2025. The organisation, which represents mobile operators worldwide including handset and device makers, software companies, equipment suppliers and Internet companies, said the first commercial 5G services was forecast to be launched in the region in 2025, with 5G connections accounting for 2.6% of the total connections by 2025. "A number of operators are already undertaking trials and ev...
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