The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), yesterday said it has always strived to ensure implementation of harmonized Right of Way (RoW) charges in state and federal government highways at the cost of N145 per linear meter.
This, it noted, will encourage faster rollout of telecoms infrastructure across the country, where stakeholders have always complained of excessive charges from federal and state governments in the deployment of terrestrial fibres.
The Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Prof. Umar Danbatta, who disclosed in a remark he made during the Fourth edition of the Information Communication Technology & Telecommunications (ICTEL) Exhibiion, organized by the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) in Lagos, added that it is also working with relevant stakeholders to ensure elimination of multiple taxation and regulations.
Danbatta, who was represented by Ismail Adedigba, Head, Information & Reference, Consumer Affairs Bureau at NCC also stated that the Commission encourages the spread of 3G coverage to, at least 80 per cent of the Nigerian population over the current 56.4 percent of the population covered with 3G networks.
“We are encouraging the operators’ upgrade of their 2G base transceiver stations (BTSs) to 3G; spread of Fifth Generation (5G) to, at least five per cent of the population; spread of 4G/LTE services to 100 per cent of the population with a minimum broadband speed of 1.5 megabit per second (Mbps); and finally, deployment of at least one Access Point of fiber with a 10 gigabyte per second (Gbps) capacity in all the 774 Local Government Areas (LGAs) of the Federation through the INFRACO,” he added.