Page 4 - SAMENA Trends - May-June 2022

EDITORIAL SAMENA TRENDS

Innovation and Resources for the 5G Era

The Coming years are critical in observing important aspect to consider in this regard.
and recalibrating approaches on how digital There is consensus that spectrum is a major
technology is deployed, and how its positive stepping stone for building a sustainable
role in post-pandemic recovery processes Digital Economy. As a national asset and
can be enhanced, while we tread ahead to scarce national resource, however, spectrum
meet the objectives set forth under the 17 needs to be managed to optimize returns to
Sustainable Development Goals despite the government while generating equal, if not
numerous digital challenges and risks more, value to the overall national economy.
lurking all around us. Given the prevailing data trends, an additional
1000 to 2000 MHz of mid-band spectrum
2022 onwards, our collective actions and would, therefore, be needed to fulfill the data
ambitions should indeed be synchronized, traffic demand and meet this fundamental
as we endeavor to operate and develop technical requirement. In SAMENA Council’s
sustainably in the new 5G digital era. views, fulfilling the spectrum resource gap in
Fulfilling the 17 SDGs or achieving the 15 the future would require significant amount
aspirational targets recently developed of licensed spectrum in both 3800-4200 Bocar A. BA
Chief Executive Officer
as part of the work of the UN Secretary- MHz as well as 6 GHz bands. Coincidentally, & Board Member
General’s Roadmap for Digital Cooperation this resource gap has a direct correlation SAMENA Telecommunications
Roundtable Group on Global Connectivity, with efforts being exerted to fill digital gaps, Council
will depend on commitment from all of us and to fulfill the United Nations Connect
to collaborate, partner, and take decisive 2030 Agenda.
steps to ensure benefits of connectivity are
brought to all corners of the society, and that National and municipal challenges can To move forward in a sustainable
an enabling environment is guaranteed for be overcome by effectively utilizing mid- manner, such spectrum resources
the Private Sector to grow and thrive. band frequencies of the 6 GHz/sub-6GHz could prove to be critical for Operators.
spectrum. Moreover, from a 5G sustainable Sustainability and inclusiveness are
With the Industry and the Member States infrastructure development point of view, 6 the key principles for any ecosystem.
are quickly moving toward adopting G5 GHz is an important band for mobile fixed It is truly through collaboration and by
regulatory benchmarks and performance links and for backhauling; a necessity for the fostering inclusion and participation,
criteria, policy and regulatory approaches timely proliferation of 5G connectivity. In fact, and by meeting resource requirements
necessarily need to more effectively 6GHz can be the ideal band for balancing the of the private sector, that we can
address the requirements of the private capacity and coverage necessary to meet sustain digital momentum. To close
sector, in particular of Telecom Operators, future wide-area deployment requirements the gap between connectivity and
to enable them to achieve reasonable scale. cost-effectively. This mid-band set of digital economy, we need to tackle the
This is very important in the context of the frequencies has the potential to deliver financial resource gaps for building
implementation of new connectivity streams, optimal ROI and a smaller carbon footprint digital infrastructure and address the
including through 5G and IoT, to ensure that due to inherent less power consumption. spectrum resource gaps for achieving
the full potential of new technologies and This has direct bearing on the future of 5G true, meaningful connectedness that
networks and their many use-cases can and unearthing its true potential, of which transcends simple internet access and
materialize and contributed to achieving the only one third lies in simply providing mobile multimedia content.
SDGs. Spectrum resources are a critically broadband.

4 MAY-JUNE 2022