The Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has said the Commission is in the process of finalizing the six Infracos counterpart funding agreement to galvanise the full roll-out of broadband infrastructure on an Open Access Model (OAM) .
The funding, which the EVC some months ago put at about N65 billion, is aimed at enhancing digital transformation and ensuring there is point of access in each of the 774 local governments in the country.
Danbatta said the Commission’s initiative to license Infrastructure Companies (INFRACOs) to bridge existing gaps will further improve not only broadband penetration but the quality of broadband experience.
There are six licensed INFRACOs, one in each geo-political zone of the country, with Lagos State receiving special status because of its commercial centrality to the country. The seventh license for the North-Central region is being processed.
Danbatta spoke while presenting a keynote speech at the virtual 2020 Nigeria Innovation Week, held last week.
He said the 2013-2018 national broadband plan has helped to meet, and surpass the 30 percent broadband penetration in December, 2018, with penetration increasing from less than 6 percent in 2015 to 43.30 percent by August 2020.
This, he said translates to 82, 653,247 broadband subscriptions in the country as of August, 2020, even as the measures have been very instrumental to the emergence and survival of SMEs that have had to ride on the backbone of telecoms infrastructure during this pandemic.
According to Danbatta the innovative Tech Forum is another avenue for the Commission to intimate the general public and tech ecosystem about NCC’s plans for rebooting the economy following disruptions occasioned by the global COVID-19 Pandemic.
He said theme of the 2020 Nigeria Innovation Week: ‘Innovating in Critical Times” is very relevant in view of the numerous challenges that the pandemic has thrown at national Governments, the ICT community and the health sector in particular.
“It is a well-known fact that nations that plan to succeed must have well-articulated policies in place to ensure the safety and security of its citizens, however, the COVID-19 Pandemic has exposed the frailties of even the most advanced nations.
“A proactive step taken by the Commission was the partnership with necessary stakeholders across the three tiers of government to collectively address challenges such as vandalism, multiple taxation & regulation, high cost of Right of Way (RoW), among others, which have been impeding speedy infrastructure deployment across the country.
“For innovation to thrive as the anchor for accelerating economic growth post COVID-19, a robust broadband infrastructure upon which ICT innovations will ride, is a necessity and an urgent one at that.
“During my first term in office, we placed emphasis on broadband to drive innovation, and hopes to take broadband penetration to 70% by 2025 in line with the new target in the Nigerian National Broadband Plan (NBBP), 2020-2025. Through effective regulatory efforts, the NCC has been able to deepen connectivity in the country”, Danbatta noted.
He said it was imperative for the Commission to introduce drastic measures at ensuring Nigerians receive value for money by establishing key performance indicators (KPIs) for quality of service by instituting a regime of rigorous and continuous monitoring of the networks to ensure that they operate in tandem with set parameters.
