By Chioma Obinagwam
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has said that it would always support any initiative aimed at improving Broadband penetration in Nigeria.
The Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Prof. Umar Danbatta disclosed at an eWorld Forum on Broadband held in Lagos recently.
He noted that the need to back Broadband initiative stemmed from the critical role it plays in transforming any country to a knowledge-based economy.
Danbata cited a recent report by World Bank where it noted that a 10 percent increase in Broadband penetration in developing countries results in a commensurable increase of 1.38 percent in Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
“It has also been proven that for every 10 percent increase in Broadband penetration, a commensurate increase in employment of 2-3 percent is achieved. Productivity also increases to between 5-10 percent with a 10 percent increase in Broadband penetration,” he stated.
Danbatta, who was represented by Engr. Oluwatoyin Asaju, Deputy Director, Administration at NCC, added that it is almost impossible to equate any other modern technological tool with Broadband, because of its inherent potential to address issues relating to sustainable development and simultaneously facilitate socioeconomic development, while instigating transformative change in all the sectors of the economy.
He pointed that the over-arching importance of Broadband has informed the continuous doggedness of the NCC in narrowing the gap between the existing and planned fibre infrastructure in Nigeria.
He said, in order to address this gap, the NCC has set a strategic imperative to ensure access to pervasive Broadband through an Open Access Model in line with the National Broadband Plan.
This, he noted, was one of the initial strategic actions of the Federal Government, through the Commission, in Nigeria’s journey towards facilitating the availability, affordability and accessibility to Broadband infrastructure and services.
According to the NCC, the deployment of the Optic Fiber transmission network has been adopted in the “Open Access Model” to bridge the current digital gap and deliver fast and reliable broadband services to households and businesses and the success of this model is evident in the tremendous growth witnessed in the provision of broadband services by all major players in the industry through one technology or the other.
Confiance News gathered that as at the first quarter (Q1) 2019, Nigeria achieved 33.08 percent Broadband penetration, which translates to 63 million Nigerians presently connected to Broadband internet services. This is represents a significant growth from the 8.5 percent penetration declared in 2015.
