Technology Outlook refocuses on ICT threshold

The Technology Times Outlook 2011 would refocus on threshold of Information and Communication Technology (ICT).

A press statement made available to ITRealms Online by Shina Badaru, said that the annual Business Summit on ICT Roadmap for Nigerian economy.

According to him, the next year convergence of ICT leaders and frontier thinkers to envision measures for a growth-oriented environment in what will be a threshold year for technology growth in the country.

The event being organized by Technology Times Media Limited, publishers of the Technology Times print and online titles, he said, the summit billed to hold February 8-10, 2011, at The MUSON Centre, Lagos, will mark a threshold year for telecoms and overall ICT development in Nigeria.

Badaru said that Technology Times Outlook, which made its debut in 2008, was initiated to create the nation’s frontline technology thought leadership event where ICT leaders in industry and government annually share their experiences and insights on policy, technology and market dynamics that will shape and define the Nigerian economy over the next 12 months and beyond.
Mr. Badaru, who is the founder of the organisations said Technology Times Outlook 2011, will offer an opportunity to review the last decade of the sector and offer frontier thinking into the next decade of ICT development in Nigeria.
“Some 10 years ago, the Federal Government of Nigeria set out a landmark vision that was conscious of the role that telecoms can play in national development and subsequently committed resources to ensuring that rapid expansion of telecoms network by according priority to the rollout of digital mobile networks,” he said.
Stressing that then, Nigeria could only boast of about 700,000 installed fixed lines of which only about 500,000 were actually connected to subscribers.
“There was just one mobile network provided by the operator M-TEL, the mobile subsidiary of the Nigerian Telecommunications Limited (NITEL). That was an analogue network that had capacity of 210,000 lines with less than 30,000 lines connected to subscribers,” he noted.
As said by him, by October 2010, Nigeria has recorded a milestone of 84,990,100 active telephones lines, thus bringing the country’s teledensity to 60.71 while total connected lines have peaked at 104,915,200.
“The growth of telecoms network investments and expansion has also brought overall installed capacity in the Nigerian telecoms market to 157,357,716 lines,” Badaru observed, noting that the telecoms market has been a veritable driver of growth complementing the rollout of new and value added services in diverse segments of the Nigerian ICT industry.
So, the year 2011, he predicted would be a major watershed for telecoms development, since it would mark a decade after the landmark GSM auctions of 2001, which coincides with the August 2001 commercial rollout of digital services in the market.
“Technology Times Outlook 2011 will offer a broad spectrum of stakeholders, thought leaders, innovators and frontier thinkers to envision the next decade of ICT development in Nigeria and offer a roadmap that will foster an environ for a growth-oriented industry,” Badaru said.
The Summit will review the post-Unified Nigerian Telecoms Market, through insightful analysis by professionals drawn from industry, government, development agencies, media and academia to examine the impact of policy reforms on key segments of the Nigerian telecoms market.
 
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