Let me say a little about 5G. I haven't studied 5G, but one thing is clear - 5G will reduce the price of data and drastically improve download speeds.

The technology is neutral, what I'm concerned about is what authoritarians will do with it.

A combination of 5G, Big Data and Artificial Intelligence will have a dramatic impact on remote learning, tele-medicine etc., but it will also DRASTICALLY reduce the costs of setting up a surveillance state.

If you doubt me, consider what the Chinese are doing in Xinjiang.

I read that Chinese security services are already setting up cameras in the homes of people from Xinjiang - who live outside Xinjiang, in places like Shanghai.

This is similar to surveillance society described by Orwell in 1984, and it will be enabled by technologies like 5G.

5G means that Africa's next generation of authoritarians won't need to fix the basics like electricity to build an effective surveillance state - 5G will be a great platform to build one, relatively cheaply.

Does this mean I am against 5G? No, but just like nuclear technology can be used to either build bombs or build power plants, we need to understand that technology can either be deployed negatively or positively.