Nigerian President, Muhammadu Buhari has approved the National Information Communications Technology Infrastructure Backbone (NICTIB II); the Managing Director of Galaxy Backbone Limited, Prof, Mohammed Abubakar has disclosed.
According to Voice of Nigeria (VON), Prof. Abubakar, who disclosed this during a familiarisation tour of Galaxy BackBone Limited Tier III Data and Network Operations Centre by the Emir of Gombe, Alhaji Abubakar Shehu-Abubakar lll, in Abuja, noted that the NICTIB II will extend fibre connectivity network to the hinterland, especially in 19 northern states and will, in turn, improve broadband penetration in Nigeria.
“There is an approval from the federal government to go on with what we call the NICTIB II project. When we bring the network, we will try to distribute it to all the cities so that anywhere you are, you can use the fiber comfortably,” Abubakar was quoted as saying.
He said Galaxy BackBone through the NICTIB project has been able to pull the fiber cables from Lagos to some selected states and cities like Calabar, Portharcourt, Enugu Makurdi, Nasarawa and Abuja.
But with the second phase of the project, which will focus on the hinterland will be concentrated towards the northern part of the country. “We will roll-out this particular Backbone infrastructure to move from Abuja to Plateau, Gombe, Bauchi, Maiduguri, Kano and other states in the north,” he announced.
Speaking on the essence of the project, Prof. Abubakar stated that the provision of network connectivity provided by the GBB through the NICTIB II project would enabled organisations, enterprises and individuals to communicate effectively and ultimately, boost Nigeria’s digital economy quest, improve ease of doing businesses and improve the livelihood of citizens.