The Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission, Prof Umar Danbatta has hinted that with the the pioneering of Fifth Generation (5G) network, in the Sub-sahara Africa, by Nigeria, its roll out will require more infrastructure for the service to reach all parts of the country.
To this end, the EVC reaffirmed that the Commission is irrevocably committed to implementation of various regulatory initiatives and Programmes, in collaboration with key stakeholders in the telecom sector towards bridging Identified gaps in the infrastructure needs of the country.
This he said will not only lead the Commission to fulfil its mandate but also support extant and emerging policies of federal government to provide affordable broadband services across Nigeria.
He called for concerted efforts and unwavering commitment of all stakeholders for the nation to acheive steady, timely and accurate deployment of 5G services, which hold a lot of benefits for the economic development of the country.
Danbatta made the following submissions during an in-house interview at the Commission’s head office in Abuja.
He commended the state and non- state actors for their vision, diligence and continued dedication at addressing infrastructural gaps, especially the implementation of the Nigerian National Broadband Plan 2020-2025, which is an initiative of the federal government being driven by NCC, aimed at addressing the infrastructure deficit in the telecom and ICT sector.
While emphasising attempts to ensure desired broadband penetration to enhance economic growth, the EVC harped that the commission is fully aware of the values of infrastructure expansion, this he said underscores the commitment and desire to see the Licensed Infrastructure Companies work speedily and with precision to cascade fibre to the hinterland, to ensure robust telecom service provision.
Accordingly, Prof. Danbatta emphasised that the Commission’s target for licensing the Infrastructure Companies was to ensure the deployment of fibre Infrastructure needed for adequate broadband penetration across the 774 local government areas in Nigeria.
He therefore said the Commission has recorded remarkable progress with notable contribution to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), this is apart from facilitating Investments, enhancing quality of service to achieve consumer quality experience and stakeholders satisfaction in line with the expectations of the Strategic Management Plan 2020-2024.