Talk about 5G

Give Ahsan Iqbal a break! Recently, the Planning & Development Minister reportedly said, "Government will soon be launching the fifth generation (5G) cellular services." Some folks in tech circles and media took offence at the statement. In doing so, critics revealed they don't have much experience listening to the Professor's conference speeches. His talking points often paint a future that seems too good to be true.

And who knows, instead of taking umbrage, Ahsan Iqbal may well be laughing over the criticism. After all, "soon" is not a timeframe, just as "some" is not a number. And in any case, PML-N doesn't seem to lose much sleep over specific timeframes. Do you not remember Khadim-e-Aala's promise during the 2013 election campaign that a PML-N government in the centre would put an end to load-shedding within six months?

Among those who may be laughing, count the cellular chaps, too. After all, it's the operators who have the financial and technical capability to launch a particular connectivity service, not the government, which can only make spectrum available for it. And there is no way telcos would invest in a shiny new thing until they completely milk their 3G and 4G investments dry. Have you forgotten that long impasse on 3G?

Also amused might be any technologist worth their salt. After all, 5G is still in its R&D phase. (Read BR Research piece, "Say hello to 5G," for a crisp overview) As equipment makers and carriers in advanced countries continue to do developmental work on 5G, global telecom bodies are yet to settle on a uniform 5G standard. In that scenario, talk of 5G-compatible handsets and ensuing commercialization is idle. Equipment vendors like Ericsson are planning 5G launch in some markets no sooner than mid-2017.

But on a serious note, Pakistan has to high-five 5G at some point in the future. It is likely that the need will arise around 2020, as data traffic might grow too much for the 4G/LTE pipes to handle by that time. Ahsan Iqbal may or may not be the person who cuts the ribbon on the 5G launch event in a not-so-distant future, but his government will do well to address the issues that are facing the industry today.

These issues include eliminating or lowering taxes on broadband services; making infrastructure available for optic fiber cable networks across the country; and re-farming the excess, redundant spectrum and making it available to the operators on a timely basis. And then some.

Still, introducing new technology is not the be-all and end-all here. Technology's "usage" must go beyond the usual realms of connectivity to really benefit society and economy. (For more on that, read "On ICT 'usage' published on September 5). The real challenge is to enable individuals, business, academia, and government to use modern connectivity services to bring innovation in what they do every day.