Broadband Penetration: Stakeholders Needs Upgraded Skills And Expertize To Achieve Our Goals -NCC.

By Helen Udoh-Abuja

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has urged stakeholders in the telecommunications sector to upgrade their skills and expertize to achieve our goals.

The Executive Vice Chairman, NCC, Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta made this known on Thursday while delivering a paper titled “Aggregating the Potential of the Sub-Sector to Meet the New Broadband Set Target Of 70%” at an event organised by the Association of Telecom Companies of Nigeria (ATCON) .

Danbatta who was represented by the Director, Digital Economy, NCC, Dr. Austine Nwaulune noted that the Commission has commenced its consolidation efforts with the directive issued to Infraco licensees to commence immediate roll-out of optic fibre cables (OFC) as contained in their license agreements to all the LGA headquarters by giving them freehand to start from viable areas and gradually move to unviable areas while the expected counter-part funding from Government is being finalized.

Danbatta stated Some of the targets of the Nigerian National Broadband Plan (NNBP) 2020-2025 include, achieving 15Mbps & 25Mbps internet speed in rural and urban areas respectively by 2025, interconnection of 90% of all LGA’s by fibre, 70% Population penetration, 100% of Tertiary Institutions to be within 5Km of a fibre PoA, 60% of all telecom towers to be connected by fibre, connection of 1 major hospital or General hospital per LGA via fibre, reduction of average cost of data to N390/Gb or less and establishment of at least one (1) local assembly or manufacture of smart devices, reduction of RoW to N145/m etc.

“From the foregoing, it is obvious that both Government, the industry and other stakeholders need to aggregate their potentials and expertise to achieve these targets.

“An equally important consolidation in the area of spectrum availability is the Commission’s finalization of the Spectrum Trading Guidelines as well as our collaboration with NigComSat that will make available 400MHz of prime spectrum for Next Generation Network deployment in the near future.

“Collaboration with State Governments has also seen the adoption of the N145/m or outright waiver Right-of-Way (RoW) by six (6) State Governments, although, here we must mention that more needs to be done by the States and Local Governments to ensure full adoption and cascading of the decision for implementation. This notwithstanding, the Commission will not relent in its effort towards addressing the issue RoW.

“The Commission’s regulatory thrust towards enabling National Roaming, approval of e-SIM and 5G trials have also aggregated the efforts of the industry players towards achieving the set target.

“Although, there has been a 3% decline in the broadband penetration from a peak of 45.93% in October 2020 to 42.93% in January 2021, which was largely as a result of the suspension of registration of new SIM cards in December to facilitate smooth linkage and synchronization of the SIM-NIN databases that will not only address some of the security challenges we are facing today but it will help us determine the truly unique numbers in the Country thus further guiding us towards achieving the 70% penetration target.”

The NCC boss assured Nigerians that the Commission will continue to proactively provide the necessary regulatory interventions which will facilitate the achievement of not only the 70% broadband penetration target but other associated targets as well which will truly transform the nation’s economy into a Digital Economy.

Also Read see Speech:

I will like to begin by thanking the Association of Telecom Companies of Nigeria (ATCON) the organizers of this maiden occasion and other insightful events for invitation and partnership with the Commission.

The subject of my presentation today which is titled “Aggregating the Potential of the Sub-Sector to Meet the New Broadband Set Target Of 70%”.

The Nigerian National Broadband Plan (NNBP) 2020-2025 is without a doubt an ambitious document with targets set that was developed jointly by critical stakeholders of the Telecoms and IT sectors of Nigeria. These stakeholders comprising of Government and private sector Executives, Experts, Managers, Associations and MDA’s represent the Who is Who of the Telecom & IT Sectors and they are people with firm believe and optimism as well as assurance that the set targets are practically achievable.

Some of the targets of the NNBP 2020-2025 include, achieving 15Mbps & 25Mbps internet speed in rural and urban areas respectively by 2025, interconnection of 90% of all LGA’s by fibre, 70% Population penetration, 100% of Tertiary Institutions to be within 5Km of a fibre PoA, 60% of all telecom towers to be connected by fibre, connection of 1 major hospital or General hospital per LGA via fibre, reduction of average cost of data to N390/Gb or less and establishment of at least one (1) local assembly or manufacture of smart devices, reduction of RoW to N145/m etc.
From the foregoing, it is obvious that both Government, the industry and other stakeholders need to aggregate their potentials and expertise to achieve these targets.

The Commission has already commenced some of this consolidation with the directive issued to Infraco licensees to commence immediate roll-out of optic fibre cables (OFC) as contained in their license agreements to all the LGA headquarters by giving them freehand to start from viable areas and gradually move to unviable areas while the expected counter-part funding from Government is being finalized.

An equally important consolidation in the area of spectrum availability is the Commission’s finalization of the Spectrum Trading Guidelines as well as our collaboration with NigComSat that will make available 400MHz of prime spectrum for Next Generation Network deployment in the near future.

Collaboration with State Governments has also seen the adoption of the N145/m or outright waiver Right-of-Way (RoW) by six (6) State Governments, although, here we must mention that more needs to be done by the States and Local Governments to ensure full adoption and cascading of the decision for implementation. This notwithstanding, the Commission will not relent in its effort towards addressing the issue RoW.

The Commission’s regulatory thrust towards enabling National Roaming, approval of e-SIM and 5G trials have also aggregated the efforts of the industry players towards achieving the set target.

Although, there has been a 3% decline in the broadband penetration from a peak of 45.93% in October 2020 to 42.93% in January 2021, which was largely as a result of the suspension of registration of new SIM cards in December to facilitate smooth linkage and synchronization of the SIM-NIN databases that will not only address some of the security challenges we are facing today but it will help us determine the truly unique numbers in the Country thus further guiding us towards achieving the 70% penetration target.

The NNBP 2020-2025 has raised the performance bar for the whole telecom industry, however being a document crafted by experts and executives, there is no reason why it cannot be achieved to put Nigeria in a firm pedestal of nations with broadband access. I wish to assure you that the Commission shall continue to proactively provide the necessary regulatory interventions which will facilitate the achievement of not only the 70% broadband penetration target but other associated targets as well which will truly tr transform our economy into a Digital Economy.
Thank you for your attention.

Professor Umar Garba Danbatta, FNSE, FAEng, FRAES, FNIEEE
Executive Vice Chairman/Chief Executive Officer
Nigerian Communications Commission

Read Below:

GOODWILL MESSAGE FROM THE EXECUTIVE VICE CHAIRMAN OF THE NIGERIAN COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION, PROF. UMAR GARBA DANBATTA, FNSE, FAEng., FRAES, FNIEEE, AT THE QUARTERLY PUBLIC LECTURE OF THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR CULTURAL ORIENTATION (NICO) HELD ON THURSDASY, MARCH 25, 2021.
Protocols:
Chairman of the Occasion,
(Distinguished Senator, Owelle, Rochas Anayo Okorocha)
Hon. Minister of Information and Culture,
(Alhaji Lai Mohammed)
Executive Secretary/CEO of NICO,
(Mallam Ado Yahuza)
Guest Lecturer,
(Prof. Sule Bello of History Department, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria)
Eminent personalities and Stakeholders here present
Gentlemen of the Press,
Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen.

It is my pleasure to be here today representing the Executive Vice Chairman/ Chief Executive of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta who, due to prior official engagements, is unable to be here.

On behalf of the Executive Vice Chairman, I bring you warm greetings from the entire Management and staff of the Commission, Please, permit me to proceed to present the EVC’s Goodwill Message to this august gathering.

THE GOODWILL MESSAGE
I thank the National Institute for Cultural Orientation (NICO) for the invitation to this Quarterly Public Lecture holding here at the African First Ladies Peace Mission Conference Hall, Abuja.
The theme of this Lecture is: “Imperial Cultural Illusions, Delusions and Hallucination: Major Sources of Africa’s Contemporary Development Crises.”

I am convinced that our eminent Guest Lecturer Prof Sule Bello is more than qualified to dissect this topic to the understanding and appreciation of all that have gathered here today.

Ladies and gentlemen, world civilisation and culture have been greatly impacted by the advancement in Information and Communications Technology (ICT) and telecommunications to the extent that the way we socialize, carry out businesses, engage in learning and participate in other life endeavours have changed in unprecedented ways.

Indeed, the theme of this event finds cognate expression in technological determinism theory and cultural imperialism conception. While the former presupposes that the society’s level of technology adoption determines the development of its social structure and cultural values; the latter is seen as the process and practice of promoting one culture over another and access to technologies plays a vital role in this.

Over the years, technology has revolutionised our world and daily lives and created amazing tools and resources, putting useful information at our fingertips.

In recent times, Nigeria has put greater emphasis on digital economy, through her National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS) 2010-2030, courtesy of the visionary leadership of the Honourable Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Ali Ibrahim (Pantami).

Indeed, the world is witnessing greater advancement in ICT with next-gen technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning, Fifth Generation Network (5G), Internet of Things (IoT), Virtual Realities (VR), Blockchain and Big data, among others. These newest technologies are fast evolving to redefine our sociocultural orientation in the 4th Industrial Revolution of the 21st Century.

With all of these revolutions, technology has made our lives easier, faster, better, and more exciting, but it has wrought a devastating effect on our national and traditional ethos. The emergence of the so called ‘digital natives’ or ‘ Millennial’ presuppose a generation that is fast losing touch with our time honours traditional and cultural values which are the very essence of our identity as a people.

The convergence of information technology and communications technology with the attendant pervasive wholesome adoption that straddles virtually all facets of social, economic and cultural life underscore the fact that this is a major source of Africa’s contemporary development crises.

As the independent national regulatory authority for the telecommunications industry in Nigeria, the NCC has, over the years, been creating an enabling environment for competition among operators in the industry as well as ensuring the provision of qualitative and efficient telecommunications services throughout the country for rapid and orderly socio-economic development.
The Commission drives broadband penetration and access to next-gen technologies that impact life.

In addition, it advocates responsible use of the technologies, especially the Internet in a way that helps to address our socio-economic, cultural and national security challenges.

Aside driving ubiquitous access to telecoms services, NCC takes it upon itself to constantly educate consumers of telecoms services on responsible use of our ICT resources for promoting development and engendering national unity. This resonates with the Institute’s primary responsibility of harnessing our cultural resources to meet the challenges of social integration, peace, unity and national development. The NCC recognizes the power of telecommunications in leapfrogging our national development in these important respects. This is the reason the Commission accords priority to strategic objectives in its regulatory mandate.

In line with the above , NCC ensures proper registration of Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) cards while also ensuring the ongoing implementation of the Ministerial Directive on the linkage of SIM and National Identity Number (NIN) data in order to ensure credible citizens’ database.

This, the Federal Government believes will enhance efforts at curbing criminal activities such as terrorism, banditry, kidnapping while boosting confidence in economic transactions.

Ladies and gentlemen, it is important to note that during the lockdowns and other disruptions occasioned by COVID-19, we witnessed, first hand, the potential positive impact of telecommunications and ICTs across all the key sectors of the Nigerian economy. According to a recent report by the Federal National Bureau of Statistics, telecoms sectors’ positive contribution to Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in Quarter 4 of 2020 is one of the reasons Nigeria was able to marginally exit from recession.

What is left for us, therefore, as a country, is to ensure we leverage technology functionally to promote our economy and address other critical development challenges.

It is on this note that I wish to reiterate the commitment of the Board and Management of NCC in ensuring Strategic Collaboration and Partnership with relevant agencies and stakeholders for a sustainable national development that guarantees economic prosperity for all citizens while preserving our fundamental social and cultural values.

I thank you all for listening. Thank you.