The Senior Manager, Transmission Planning, MTN Nigeria,
Olusegun Salami, has stated that the key to ubiquitous Broadband penetration in
the country lies in the deployment of Fibre Optic network and wireless access, ITRealms
reports.
He said that the fibre optic which is cheaper should be
invested in if the 30 per cent national broadband penetration target is to be
achieved in 2018,
saying that the nature of village settlement which is sparse makes it difficult
for investors to obtain the required number of subscribers before putting down
money for such investment in the optic fibre yet it is the way to go.
He also
said
access to the internet in the village is less than 1 per cent, adding that there is a huge
gap in broadband penetration between the urban and the rural areas.
Salami was speaking, Friday, at the quarterly Seminar of
the Nigeria Information Technology Reporters Association (NITRA) held at
Western Town Hotel in Ikeja, Lagos. The event which had the theme “Foreign
Direct Investment, an impetus to achieving ubiquitous broadband penetration,” played
host to industry giants. compared broadband penetration to the availability of
signals to transistor radio in the villages. “That is the kind of penetration
we want to see”, he said.
He kept the audience spellbound as he advocated low price
smart phones, devaluation of the currency to attract direct foreign investment,
utilization of fibre optic in the rural areas, the right of way, CTDs in the
urban areas as key factors for the realization of internet penetration to the last
mile, saying that attaining the 30 per
cent target is a possibility, ITRealms
gathered.
He said two years
into the five year- journey no significant ground has been covered and
therefore called on NITRA which is the umbrella body of all ICT reporters
in Nigeria, to do more reporting on the
challenges that have hindered the deployment of fibre optic, even as he
thanked association for organizing the
event.
The former President, Association of Telecom Companies of
Nigeria (ATCON, Dr Emmanuel Ekuwem, who was the chairman of the occasion, said
it is not enough to have infrastructure in place, but that what you put in the infrastructure is equally key. He stated that content is a
major issue for ubiquitous Broadband penetration.
Dr. Emmanuel Ekuwem who is the former
President of the Association of Telecommunication Companies of Nigeria (ATCON),
Immediate Past President of Nigeria Internet Group (NIG) and also the CEO of Teledom
Group, an indigenous conglomerate company with expertise in Broadband ICT
infrastructure development, deployment and software development for Telecom
process automation, ITRealms
gathered, disagreed with those who clamour for devaluation of the Naira as a
way to realize direct foreign investment for ubiquitous broadband penetration
saying that no foreigner would love you more than his or her own country.
The President of NITRA, Emma Okonji had earlier welcomed
guests to the occasion with a call to the authorities to put up more efforts
towards the realization of the national broadband penetration target.
Cyriacus Nnaji/GEE
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