119 million subscribers (Nigerians) now access the internet in Nigeria as at April 2019.
The Executive Vice Chairman, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Professor Umar Garba Danbatta said this recently to emphasise that broadband services are transforming the way and manner people live, work and play, and in patterns and tempo humanity never witnessed before.
The NCC boss said the revolution is witnessed in education, agriculture, healthcare, commerce, transportation, governance and other sectors of the economy.
Danbatta, who was represented by NCC’s director of projects, Abigail Sholanke at the 7th Digital Africa Conference and Exhibition held at Baze University, Abuja, stated that broadband penetration which stood at 8.50 perncent as at 2015 had risen to 33.70 per cent as at April 2019.
The EVC stated that NCC has instituted a regulatory and licensing framework to further accelerate broadband availability, accessibility and affordability in Nigeria.
The commission has done so through auction of frequency spectrum in some bands as well as spectrum re-farming in order to optimise the resources.
The NCC, according to the EVC, has also licensed Infrastructure Companies (Infraco) across the six geo-political zones in the country to facilitate the cascading of fibre to more remote areas of Nigeria.
He further stated the need for strategic collaborations between policy-making institutions and private sector players towards addressing the various challenges slowing down the development of Africa digital ecosystem.
