Nigeria targets broadband investors @ITU Telecom World 2017

ITRealms:

The Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta has said the focuse of his administration at the ongoing Telecom World in Busan, South Korea, is to attract the right investment to expand broadband coverage in Nigeria, reports ITRealms.

Danbatta, in his remarks at the official opening of Nigeria Pavilion at the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) organised Telecom World 2017, said that NCC has noted with interest the recent joint report by ITU and UNESCO Broadband Commission for sustainable development which indicated that Nigeria now has about 21 per cent broadband penetration.

The Commission, he said, is conscious of the reality that broadband fuels faster data transmission speed and capacity.

“Our focus now is on how we can attract the right investments to grow this critical area of the sector through broadband coverage expansion,” he declared.

NCC, he noted, as a foremost regulator, has put in place measures and guidelines to licence wholesale broadband service providers consistent with the Open Access Model for broadband deployment. 

Danbatta said, of the seven infrastructure companies (Infracos) earmarked for licensing, only two have so far been licensed for Lagos which is commercial hub of Nigeria, and Abuja including the North Central zone of the country leaving five more licences for the South West, South East, South South, North East and North West zones of the country.

“The process of licensing of infracos for these five remaining zones is about to be concluded,” he said.

Although, he said, Nigeria has made very modest progress in the sector, “we still need to deepen investments to make broadband pervasive in the country.”

Nigeria, he emphasized is at 21 per cent now, “our target is to hit 30 per cent by 2018, consistent with the National Broadband Plan.”

Remmy Nweke/ED, Ops 

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