The Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Prof. Umar Danbatta has disclosed that Nigeria did not only surpassed the 30 percent broadband target for 2018 but has increased broadband penetration in Nigeria to 42.02 percent as of July 2020.
The former University lecturer, who disclosed this in a presentation titled “Communication Technology for Service Delivery in Health, Education, Tourism, the Creative Industry and Agriculture” delivered during the first virtual and sixth edition of the Information Communications Technology and Telecommunications Conference and Exhibition (ICTEL) EXPO 2020, also assured that Nigeria will continue to promote and facilitate the expansion of robust broadband infrastructure across the country for the rapid development of the nation’s digital economy.
He argued that the increase in broadband penetration is a testimony that the national efforts at achieving the new 70 percent broadband penetration target set in the Nigeria National Broadband Plan (NNBP) 2020-2025 is feasible.
Danbatta, who was represented by the Director, Consumer Affairs Bureau, NCC, Efosa Idehen, also revealed that in line with the commitment of the government to achieve the 70 percent broadband penetration, the Commission has commenced the review of the framework for engaging infrastructure companies to cascade fibre optic deployment to the hinterlands of Nigeria to ensure pervasive access to broadband services in the country.
“With the support of the Federal Government, through the Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy, NCC is resolving the perennial problem of the high cost of Right of Way (RoW) with the support of the Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF) to hasten ICT infrastructure that will enable socio-economic activities across various sectors,” he said.