Are we really ready to embrace 5G?

The other day I called one of my acquaintances, with whom I share my two cents on different pertinent issues from time to time, just to exchange pleasantries on the occasion of Eid. I also requested him to pore over a recent write-up scribbled by me. He later informed me that he was unable to read it because he could not access internet at a good speed, good enough to browse a link. At that time, he was staying at the domicile in his hamlet located at Ghatail in Tangail. I was, at first, taken aback a little to know that the internet speed was not high enough to browse a mere link despite the fact that his village home was not in the remotest area or it wasn’t a rural backwater. Then, another thought just crossed my mind – when someone from a village area still cannot access internet (3G or 4G) properly, what’s the point of introducing 5G?

For any advancement to be sustainable and long-lasting, we must take a single leap at a time and move on to the next step only when the previous one has been pulled off with flying colors. Bangladesh launched 3G technology in 2013 and 4G in 2018. Eight years into the initiation of 3G technology, people from all walks of life are yet to reap full benefits of this technology. In spite of this, 4G technology was introduced in 2018, without ensuring uninterrupted 3G services for all. And now, when all the telcos are yet to bring the whole country under 4G coverage fully, the country is rushing to launch 5G technology. How prudent is this decision and will it really bear fruits for cross-sections of people?

According to data provided by the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC), mobile internet subscribers inched up to 10.633 crore from 10.3193 crore in March this year. It means more and more people are leaning towards mobile internet services as the new normal thrust upon us by the rogue virus has forced people to keep up with the time riding on the power of digitalization.

But, interestingly only 10 percent of users adopted 4G network till 2019 despite the fact that Bangladesh entered 4G era in February 2018, global mobile communication industry GSMA revealed in one of its reports. According to the same report, by the time we will reach 2025, only 46 percent users in Bangladesh will access 4G network. In contrast to such reality, BTRC has already devised and declared plans to launch 5G in 2021, and they are hopeful about making it available in the district level by 2023. Now the question is - when the country is still far away from growing its 4G network properly, is it a warranted action to focus on rolling out 5G without pressurizing the telecom operators to enhance their services and ensure proper 3G and 4G coverage for all?

Again, mass people, especially the rural subalterns, are not getting proper 3G internet services, let alone 4G. Even in the urban areas, take for example my case, the internet speed is too slow. Though I live in the capital, use a device of a mobile brand that claims itself to have registered hundreds of 4G and 5G patents and avail of internet packages of the telco that boasts of the largest base of mobile subscribers, I often find it difficult to watch videos even on YouTube without buffering.

Recent stats revealed by Ookla, a global leader in mobile and broadband network intelligence, attest this fact. Ookla placed Bangladesh in the 134th position among 137 countries in its Speedtest Global Index for May. The speed was 12.53Mbps in May, which is the lowest among the South Asian countries. Internet speeds in India, Pakistan and Nepal were 15.34Mbps, 19.9Mbps and 19.54Mbps respectively in May. Now imagine, when a far less developed country like Nepal is offering better mobile internet speed than us, we seem to have least bothered about it. Rather, we are in a hurry to introduce 5G without ironing out the existing wrinkles.

This tendency is comparable to the situation that prevailed just before introducing 3G or 4G in our country. Even before introducing 3G or 4G, market mavens, telecom operators and ICT infrastructure providers were touting the benefits so loudly that everyone believed this was going to be a game changer. But, the reality turned out to be different – the digital divide just increased. And now, when the government is mapping out plans to adopt 5G technology, we are witnessing the same trend – everyone (the stakeholders to be particular) is straining their nerves to sell the idea that 5G will bring about alchemical changes in our lives and the way we experience things. For me, this is just another publicity gimmick to sell the new notion (5G) and reel in users for this new technology.

Another major problem is that the price of devices necessary to access 5G is still very high. Devices now available in the markets with 5G compatibility are high-end or flagship phones. So, even if 5G is introduced, how many people will actually be able to access it? Will it be wise to go for mass adoption of 5G without solving this issue first?

Simply put, when majority of the population is still out of 4G coverage, how justified is it to roll out 5G? When the trues benefits of 3G and 4G are yet to be tapped into fully, how acceptable is it to adopt 5G? It would be foolhardy to adopt the technology on a pro-forma basis without developing proper infrastructure and guaranteeing favorable condition for cross-sections of people to access it just to chest-beat about it and such a rash adoption will be of little avail. Instead, we need to first address the afore-mentioned issues, create a situation when everyone is in a position to reap benefits of 4G network and then, move on to 5G technology. Otherwise, the question will prevail – are we really ready to embrace 5G in the truest sense?

The writer is a freelance columnist