In a response to Business Monitor enquiries recently, the regulator revealed that it had allocated 5G radio spectrum to the country’s three mobile operators although thus far, only one has launched the advanced connectivity.
Mascom, the country’s largest operator, launched its 5G services in February, with four sites in Gaborone and plans to expand to 111 more across the country. Known formally as the Fifth Generation of cellular connectivity, 5G was introduced globally in 2019 and offers speeds up to 100 times faster than 4G.
The new technology is seen as fundamental to countries’ digital transformations and enhancement of economic efficiencies.
Acting director of Broadcasting and Corporate Communications, Masego Jeremiah said while the spectrum had been allocated to all operators, the decision to launch the services was up to them. “BOCRA is working with the operators to ensure that the recently assigned spectrum is used to roll out 5G services as per the obligations attached to the use of the spectrum,” she said.
“There is, however, a challenge in that, currently most of the consumer devices are not 5G capable and as such, some consumers may not be able to enjoy 5G services during the early days of roll out.” Jeremiah said in deciding to introduce 5G services, operators would take into consideration their business needs and resources required for the service.
“The introduction of 5G requires additional investment from the operators, in terms of new transmission sites and network. “Thus additional investment is guided by a business case.
“On the regulatory side only the radio frequency spectrum and enabling regulatory environment is required,” she said. In Launching Mascom’s 5G services in February, Transport and Communications minister, Thulagano Segokgo said the technology was one of the accelerators needed to catalyse the country’s transformation to a digital economy. Other accelerators include Artificial Intelligence, Cloud Computing, Big Data, and the Internet of Things.
