Namibia's telecommunications service providers have been given a workshop on the country's 5G capabilities and spectrum requirements courtesy of the Communications Regulatory Authority of Namibia (CRAN) and LS Telcom, an ICT consulting, engineering services and system solutions supplier.

The event in Namibia's capital city of Windhoek included an overview of current 5G trials globally, as well as the regulatory frameworks required for local 5G implementation.

Jochen Traut, Chief Operating Officer at CRAN says the workshop served as a platform for further collaboration in the sector for future rollout of 5G.

"Namibia was elected as the supporting country to South Africa in respect of the World Radio Conference (WRC-19) agenda points related to International Mobile Technology (IMT) services, which include 5G and 5G spectrum related requirements. The workshop provided a platform for stakeholders to jointly craft strategies that will ensure the speedy and effective implementation of 5G in Namibia."

World Radiocommunication conferences (WRC) are held every three-to-four years to review and revise the radio regulations, the use of the radio-frequency spectrum and the geostationary-satellite and non-geostationary-satellite orbits.

African meetings in preparation for WRC-19, organised by the African Telecommunications Union (ATU), will begin in Nairobi next month, with the next meeting scheduled for September in Dakar.

Traut added, "The success of 5G in Namibia depends on the collaboration and innovation of all telecommunication industry players. Investment in 5G will, in the long haul, enable mobile application and telecommunications service providers to connect simultaneously at any time. 5G also achieves more efficient spectrum use, lower latency and ubiquitous connectivity. It is extremely reliable, near to universal coverage and its high-speed mobile broadband can cost effectively support growing data traffic demand such as video downloads and better support low-power Internet of Things solutions."