5G: Telcos Mull Phased Rollout, Fear Consumers' Weak Purchasing Power

TELECOMMUNICATION companies may delay the commercial rollout of fifth-generation technology due to the weak purchasing power of their customers as a result of inflation.

In a panel session during The AfricaNXT Conference 2022, the Nigerian Communications Commission disclosed that Nigerians might have to buy new devices in order to be able to enjoy 5G services or use alternate broadband devices.

The NCC team that spoke during a panel session said most devices present in the nation do not have 5G capabilities. They added that in two years, there would be one billion 5G devices in the world.

According to GSMA, the industry organisation that represents the global interests of mobile network operators, most people in Nigeria and other sub-Saharan African countries spend 100 per cent of their income on entry-level Internet-enabled handsets.

Ericsson in its ‘Mobility Report: November 2021,’ disclosed that 5G subscriptions would hit 660 million globally in 2021. It added that counties like Nigeria would begin to have discernible amounts of 5G subscriptions by 2022.

In an interview with our correspondents, experts have said rising inflation may hamper the commercial rollout of 5G services in the nation as consumers may not have enough disposable income to buy 5G devices.

A source in one of the telecommunication companies confirmed that telcos were concerned about recouping their investment cost on 5G. According to the source, one of the companies that won the licence for 5G in the nation is planning to prioritise rollout in industrial areas for now.

The source said, “In rolling out, we would prioritise the industrial application of 5G. You know what 5G can do to gaming, the companies focused on things like these are going to be our first customers. And also, people that really have money, who want to experience 5G, will be able to afford the devices.

“The rollout is capital intensive. Even for us, we cannot roll out en masse. The cost of bringing in the equipment for instance is expensive. And after bringing in 5G equipment, if people cannot access it, we would run at a loss.

“Although in bridging the gap, there is something called device funding, where we partner with OEMs that will bring in the devices. People that are interested in these devices will pay instalmentally. That is another way of managing that. So, consumers may not totally pay for the devices at once. If we make device funding facilities available, people will be able to pay in bits.

“More than anything else, we are prioritising the industrial applications more because companies would be able to pay for it. Gradually, we would roll out to consumers, individual users. Our rollout would be focused mostly on Lagos, maybe Abuja and Port Harcourt, and maybe Kano. At the initial stage, 5G isn’t going to be an en-mass market rollout.”

According to a professor of Economics and Public Policy at the University of Uyo, Akpan Ekpo, people who want to use 5G will need to spend more.

He said, “For people who want to use 5G, they will spend more. However, not everyone will want to use 5G, which is a problem. If the macroeconomic condition of the nation improves, people will want to use 5G. For now, 5G is for people who can afford it, maybe the elites.

“This means that a lot of people are excluded from technology. The operators must have done their research to know how many people must use 5G for them to be able to make good returns.

“Definitely, if few people are using 5G they may not recoup their returns and this becomes a problem. So, I suspect that if they feel that they may not recoup their returns, they may bear part of the cost. Companies make what we call maximum profit. They may just make a normal profit.”

A senior lecturer of Economics at the Pan Atlantic University, Dr Olalekan Aworinde, added while 5G has cost benefits, rising inflation would mean that people have to spend more to get 5G devices.

He said, “There are costs and benefits to 5G rollout to the economy at large. Presently, the devices we have now would not be able to accommodate a 5G network, so if it is not able to accommodate a 5G network, this means we may need to purchase new devices in order to be able to use the 5G network.

“The implication of this is that people will have to spend more to purchase those devices. On the consumer side, there is going to be an increase in the level of expenditure.

“My worry here for the consumer, especially with rising inflation, and since some of them are salary earners with fixed income, is that they won’t be able to afford it.”

The President of the National Association of Telecoms Subscribers, Adeolu Ogunbanjo, said the rollout for 5G would be shaky as a result of low disposable income.

He said, “Things are getting inflated. Inflation is now getting high. A lot of things are getting more expensive, costlier than in the last one, two months.

“Definitely, low purchasing power will affect the rollout, and the teledensity will obviously decrease because people will not be able to readily afford phones that will be used to deploy the 5G technology.”

He added that people might continue to use 2G, 3G, and 4G devices for a while until they are able to afford 5G devices.

Punch

Urm, i dont think so, Nigerians will still buy.

Did i hear weak purchasing power? Are these telcos joking. Don't they know that Nigerians are one of the highest consumers of telecommunication products in the world?
In saner climes, the likes of mtn, glo, airtel, 9mobile should have been flushed out of Nigeria due to their worsening services. Especially that useless glo.

People are seriously suffering

5g fast but get effect on human. Be ready for the consequences. Covid never teach unah lesson

All na wash, at the end it will still go their normal way. They want us to feel that something is happening, whereas nothing is happening.

Country wey over half the population no get sense,

I beta pass my neighbor mentality, nobody ready to speak up on the hunger and suffering,
In a sane clime, buhari would have been impeached long ago with the house of rep members forced to step down,

But in naija, majority want to impress, want to opress and love fake life suffering and smiling,

Bring the 5G the idiots using iphone 13 and living in selcontain naim go first purchase am

Wo. We are still using 4G, economy no good to dey buy any 5G

We go buy am roll it asap.

lol Nigerians will surely buy it, we are very unique set of people and we use everything to show off. I won't be surprised if we have the highest number of iPhone 13 pro max owners in the world. Here, you will see a fuel attendant using iPhones 13 and many people that can't even afford a car owning two iPhone with the latest iwatch and airpods. These set of people will still be struggling to enter danfo with you

what Nigerians can't buy, does not exist

Na person wey don chop belle full dey find 5G

There's no money on ground. Telecommunication company also doing publicity stunt to promote the incoming 5G. Al na marketing strategy

Stevenson20:
All na wash, at the end it will still go their normal way. They want us to feel that something is happening, whereas nothing is happening.

You are right

Janiobi:
5g fast but get effect on human. Be ready for the consequences. Covid never teach unah lesson

recieve sense ijn

I'm patiently waiting for the roll out so I can get a new 5G Android phone.

We have low purchasing power yet they keep declaring Billions in profit.

BTW, these thieves will purposely make the current 4G slow so people will be forced to use 5G irrespective of the cost. Na today?

Useless talk.

5g that is going to have traffic

PapaNnamdi:
Country wey over half the population no get sense,

I beta pass my neighbor mentality, nobody ready to speak up on the hunger and suffering,
In a sane clime, buhari would have been impeached long ago with the house of rep members forced to step down,

But in naija, majority want to impress, want to opress and love fake life suffering and smiling,

Bring the 5G the idiots using iphone 13 and living in selcontain naim go first purchase am

Your last paragraph so apt

That's when useless transsion will start producing their usual substandard fake rubbish phones

:Tecno Camon 5G plus , Tecno camon 5G plus pro, Tecno Camon 5G PLUS PRO 2 PRO with inbuilt Toothbrush and clipper..

Infinix HoT 5G , Infinix Hot Tube 5G splash, Infinix HotPro5G nutcracker,

Itel P101 5G , Itel J202 5g version with GPRS, now launching the new Tecno Phantom 5G with inbuilt nuclear missile detector ..

Rubbish

People who want to use 5G will need to spend more

When it is rolled out, it is only the rich that will be able to afford it

This is class system.

Hmmm

Marriss:
Good thing they're considering customers this time. Although some Nigerians may be rich enough to use it

They are considering themselves first not the customers, I believe...

If they spend so much on 5g equipment and the majority of the populace are still looking for money to feed in this harsh economy rather than spend on 5g services or even buy 5g enabled devices, the telcos will run at a loss.... So e better make them respect themselves leave us with 4g for now

This is very wrong there are many 5G enabled Devices in Nigeria.
From Samsung Note 10 upward
From iPhone 12 upward
From Redmi Note 10 upward
And the list goes on

Poverty Capital of the WORLD

GardenOfGod:
5G: Telcos Mull Phased Rollout, Fear Consumers' Weak Purchasing Power

TELECOMMUNICATION companies may delay the commercial rollout of fifth-generation technology due to the weak purchasing power of their customers as a result of inflation.


Punch

These are perilous times. Saboteurs. They'll role it out and sabotage the 4G/4G+ same way they did EDGE. It is horrible what happens when your phone's network changes to E (edge) these days. I don't want to even mention G (GPRS or 2G).

Some communities cannot even access 3G, let alone, 4G. This life no balance

Good morning
So me and my Dad decided to engage in catfish business by rearing them in a pond.
We followed all instructions as directed by a professional. After about one month plus, some fishes grew bigger than others, as directed again, we had to split them leaving the big ones in the main pond and putting the small ones in another pond.

That was when the tragedy started, we lost over 5 fishes daily since that separation, and just this morning,

We lost about 50 cat fishes

Please any professional that knows the remedy to this menace, his or her advice is well appreciated.
Thank You.