Deloitte Global has predicted that the next generation of WIFI is set to play a pivotal role as organisations innovate with advanced networking.
Speaking at a webinar organized by Deloitte Ghana on the topic of Technology, Media, and Telecommunication predictions on Thursday, February 3, 2022, the Chief Executive Officer for the Ghana Chamber of Telecommunications, Ken Ashigbey, said there will astronomical transformation in the Digital space in the coming days.
He however feared Ghana may not be prepared enough to benefit from the wireless innovations.
“Fortunately, from the Ministry side, there’s been some conversation around it. We have also had a few operators talk about it. But really, I’m not too sure we are prepared or have put in place enough measures. We should have had the conversation going by now. We need to do a bit more if we want it to be done.”
“We also have to be looking at WIFI 6 so that we can look at our local context together. 5G is also going to come with densification, where we are going to need a lot of towers in closer places, among others. How do we get the needed infrastructure for it, have we considered how we are going to get the local assemblies invoked?” He quizzed.
He, therefore, urged government to strategically position the country to fully harness the innovations.
“The pace at which things are going to happen, the world hasn’t seen it before. One of the things we need to do globally is that we need to change the 1G regulation we have used over the years. It is not even going to be enough to have a 5G kind of regulation. We need one that protects the vulnerable. When we look at where we are going, it looks scary but we need to use the technology as well.”
“We also need to democratize it, because the knowledge resides in everyone. We also need to create the knowledge to help shape the way the regulation is going to go. We can’t be definite but there is an opportunity for us to contribute and look at WEB G, 5G, 6G.”
“Another group of people we need to look out for is academia. Not only just the faculty, but the students, how much are we allowing them to experiment,” he added.
He also urged government to consider strategies to make the products affordable to all.
“One of the major challenges according to the GSMA research on adoption of technology is taxation. What you want to do is to consider what you do with taxation, so far as these industries are concerned. In the past, we have seen government take taxation off these devices. We need to work a lot more into how we can assemble some of these products locally. That’s a conversation that should happen. Beyond those devices, the cost of usage should be considered.”
“We also need to look into our content, producing more content instead of just downloading what we are given. Some of them can be policies, especially with the AFCFTA, we can look at something like that. I see opportunities for advertisers, local content manufacturers to be able to plug into all these streaming wars.”
Deloitte Global’s predictions on WIFI 6 and 5G
Deloitte Global has predicted that W-FI6 devices will outsell 5G devices in 2022 and will likely continue to do so for the next few years.
According to Kofi Awuah, a partner at Deloitte on Technology, Media, and Telecommunications, advanced wireless is a strategic priority as 8 in 10 networking executives expect it to transform their enterprises by 2023, changing how they operate, develop new products and business models, and engage with customers.
It also predicted that at least 2.5 billion W-Fi 6 devices will ship in 2022 versus roughly 1.5 billion 5G devices.
W.Fi6 has a significant role to play in the future of enterprise wireless. Wi-Fi6 equipped devices include smartphones, tablets, PCs, wireless cameras, smart home devices, game consoles, wearables, and ARVR headsets, as well as tools in mines, ports, factories, and so on.
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