Prof. Umar Danbatta, yesterday gave an account of his 8-point agenda, he unveiled upon his appointment as the Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) in 2015.
The NCC Boss, who gave the account in his keynote address at the 5TH edition of the Nigeria Innovation Week, said the 8-point agenda was driven by the vision to build a telecommunications market defined by universal access to affordable and equitable service.
“The driving force behind the eight-point agenda was to prepare the industry for the uncertainties and challenges that lay ahead, considering the disruptions caused by evolving technologies. This is to ensure that the sector continues to play its veritable role as the enabler of the nation’s economic growth,” he said.
The 8-point agenda are facilitating broadband penetration, improving quality of service (QoS) optimizing usage and benefits of the spectrum, promoting ICT innovation and investment opportunities and facilitating strategic collaboration and partnerships.
Others are protecting and empowering consumers, promoting fair competition and inclusive growth and ensure regulatory excellence and operational efficiency.
Giving the account, Danbatta, who was represented at the forum by the Director of Public Affairs, Dr. Ikechkwu Adinde, said NCC, in continuing with its long-standing tradition of being a proactive regulatory approach, introduced policies and initiatives aimed at promoting the provision of efficient, available, affordable and easily accessible communications services throughout Nigeria.
He said in partnership with necessary stakeholders, the Commission has been able to implement the 8-point agenda to the latter through effective regulation that has seen broadband penetration in the country to 43.30 percent by August 2020. This effort, according to him has allowed innovation to thrive.
“Under my stewardship at the Commission, we realized that infrastructure gaps existed around the country impairing network performance and leading to poor quality of service. With the steady increase in telecom subscribers, the Commission decided that a robust telecom/ICT infrastructure was needed to meet up with growing demands for improved Quality of Service,” he said.
To address this, he said NCC introduced drastic measures at ensuring Nigerians receive value for money by intensifying its focus on the established 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.
To build infrastructure through which service are driven, the telecom regulator made a move to license Infrastructure Companies (INFRACOs) to bridge existing gaps to further improve not only broadband penetration but the quality of broadband experience.
Today six (6) licensed INFRACOs exist, 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.