Ghana must quicken pace of 5G deployment - Technology students

Beneficiaries of the Huawei Seeds for the Future initiative have called on the government
of Ghana to quicken the pace of adoption of 5G technology.

According to the students, Ghana risks being left behind in the global technology race despite the vast array of talents it has in the sector.

Speaking to citinewsroom.com at the graduation ceremony of the Huawei’s flagship Corporate Social Responsibility initiative, the students said: “the benefits 5G technology holds for the country are endless.”

“Healthcare can be improved, teaching and learning will be enhanced and event traffic can be
controlled very well if we adopt 5G effectively in Ghana,” Pamela Aboagyewaa Mantey, a
beneficiary from Ghana Technology University College noted.

Another student, Benedicta Fofo Doku from KNUST maintained that, “we can get a smart home where you are able to regulate everything in your home with your mobile phone, with everything communicating with each other known as the internet of things. We can even build a smart city.”

John Kwesi Marfo, student Vice President of computer science department at the Koforidua Technical University, however, cautioned that though the deployment was necessary, security was key.

“What will happen should there be a shutdown or break in internet, because one second could kill someone on a surgical table for example. Measures should be put in place to ensure that these lapses do not occur or are minimised.”

The Huawei Seeds for the Future initiative is the company’s global CSR flagship program which was initiated in 2015.

It seeks to develop local ICT talent, enhance knowledge transfer, promote a greater understanding of and interest in the telecommunications sector, and improve and encourage regional building and participation in the digital community.

60 students from top Ghanaian Universities have benefitted from this program, so far.

This year’s beneficiaries spent a week in Shenzhen where they were given hands-on training at the Huawei Headquarters in 5G Network Setup, IoT and Enterprise Solutions.

A past beneficiaries of the initiative like Ebenezer Frimpong of the University of Ghana has started his own telecom transmission company and is currently working under a subcontractor of Huawei for the Vodafone LTE Project.