Nigeria Targets 80% Broadband Penetration by 2018

Fri, Dec 11, 2015
By publisher
4 MIN READ

BREAKING NEWS, Business

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Nigeria plans to achieve affordable 3G broadband coverage of 80 percent of the population by 2018

| By Anayo Ezugwu | Dec 21, 2015 @ 01:00 GMT |

THE federal government’s national broadband plan, NBP, is to achieve affordable 3G coverage to at least 80 percent of the population by the year 2018. Adebayo Shittu, minister of communications technology, said the drive for 80 percent coverage was aimed at building a knowledge-driven economy in line with the change agenda of President Muhammadu Buhari led administration.

According to him, affordable broadband penetration will enhance the quality of education and health-care delivery in Nigeria. In a statement signed by Victor Oluwadamilare, special assistant to the minister on media, at the just concluded World Radio Communication Conference, WRC-15, of the International Telecommunications Union, ITU, held in Geneva, Switzerland, the minister said: “Increase and affordable broadband penetration and access would promote innovations and enhance the quality of education and health-care delivery, increase job opportunities, wealth creation and reduce poverty.”

The 2015 edition of the conference reviewed and updated the radio regulations, while 150 member nations out of the total 153 member States adopted and signed the new revised Act of the body. “This is a very important conference, because 14 years ago, Nigeria came to limelight in the Telecommunications/ICT sector as a result of transparent auction of frequency spectrum and licensing of the initial three digital mobile operators licences for the provision of GSM services in the country.

“Since the GSM revolution, Nigeria has continued to witness tremendous progress and growth in the Telecommunications and ICT sector of our economy, while Nigeria had less than 500, 000 fixed telephone lines as at January, 2001, the country now has an estimated mobile subscriptions of 150million and tele-density of 107.61.

“We believe that the decision taken at this conference after four weeks of deliberations is a significant milestone to sustaining the future in all spheres of human endeavour. It will go a long way to assist relevant stakeholders develop and use appropriate technologies that would help in the implementation of their respective country’s broadband agenda and provision of other important services,” Shittu said.

Nigeria made history at this year’s edition of WRC-15 chaired by Festus Daudu, director, (Spectrum Management) in the federal ministry of communications. It was the first time in the 150 years history of the ITU that an African country would chair the conference.

Meanwhile, the Nigeria Internet Group, NIG, had assured internet users that the association would work with relevant bodies to ensure that the country enjoys more effective and efficient broadband penetration. Adebayo Banjo, president, NIG, made the promise at the association’s annual conference and exhibition 2015, held in August in Lagos.

Banjo said that Information and Communications Technology, ICT has become an integral aspect of human activity, noting that any activity that is not rooted on it will certainly go into extinction. “This year’s conference is particularly important because of the significant moves towards the development of the broadband technology to increase its penetration, usage and affordability in the country, which is why it has the theme: “Internet Penetration, The Way Forward.”

He identified critical success factors like provision of infrastructures, implementation of appropriate legal and regulatory frameworks, political-will of the government to implement right policies among others as measures that would go a long way at improving broadband penetration in the country. “We are working round the clock to ensure that by 2018, broadband penetration in the country would have risen above 20 percent.”

However, Banjo noted that one of the ways to effectively achieve this is when government gives Nigerian Communication Commission, NCC, the free hand to sanction and monitor all defaulting Telecoms, adding that this action will ensure efficient and effective broadband penetration in the country.

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