The Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, in partnership with the West Indian Ocean Cable Company (WIOCC), is set to kick-off the first batch of the government’s fibre-to-home internet connectivity in the country.
The Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani, announced the plan on Wednesday during the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between his ministry and the Indian company on the $10 million worth project in Abuja.
He expressed optimism that the initiative would catalyze the growth of the nation’s digital economy as it will avail millions of Nigerians the opportunity for faster and affordable internet.
The minister explained: “We know the role of digital technology in driving productivity across all key sectors. Our intention is not really to have a situation where the cost of providing these services will continue to go up.
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“Telecommunications service providers will continue to invest, but at the same time, they have to ensure that their businesses are sustainable, not at a rate that will become challenging for our people”, he added.
According to him, the government while acknowledging the current gap in digital connectivity, it also recognises that if the primarily goal is meaningful connectivity, there is more than one way to meaningful connectivity.
Tijani, who maintained that the ministry was encouraging investment in different parts of the telecoms industry value chain that facilitates internet connectivity to people, listed one of the areas that Nigerians had not truly benefited from as the fiber-to-home service.
He said the government would use the MoU with the Indian company to deliver the fiber-to-home service goals nationwide, adding that the implementation will put Nigeria in a position where the people and small businesses can have access to world class and high speed broadband internet in the major cities, and also in the rural and the unconnected locations.
The minister further explained that the approval for tariffs hike for telecom services providers was a difficult decision for the government but that it was taken based on the invaluable roles of internet connectivity in the society and national development.
He clarified: “We appreciate that our goal of building a one trillion-dollar economy will need to ensure that connectivity is at the heart of that. Productivity is key to be able to build an economy that is strong.”
Earlier in his remarks, the Group Chief Business Development Officer of WIOCC, Darren Bedford, disclosed that the company had a target of reaching three million homes during the first phase of the project’s implementation with an initial investment capital of 10 million dollars.
The industry expert assured that the project would have positive impact on Nigerians, especially the people in the rural because most of them lack access to the internet now, and majority of businesses in the country and people in their homes have to rely on mobile devices for voice calls and data services.
The WIOCC chief said: “They do not have access to true high speed broadband. I think this is the first step to creating this environment, and to bring this to the Nigerian people.
“We have set our ambitions at a reasonable target. During the course of the rollout for those three million homes, we will re-evaluate. We have done a realistic initial plan that we think is achievable”, Bedford added.
To address the challenges of internet infrastructure, the Federal Government in year 2013 launched the Nigeria National Broadband Plan (NNBP), with a vision to provide broadband connectivity to all citizens and aims to achieve a minimum broadband penetration of 70% by 2025, with specific strategies to increase coverage in under-served and un-served areas.
The NNBP has four critical pillars which are Infrastructure, Policy, Demand Drivers, and Funding/Incentives
Over the years, the government through partnerships with the private sector, especially foreign investors, has been investing in expanding broadband infrastructure across the country.
However, available data on internet penetration in the country indicates there is still more for the government to do in terms of attracting more investments to the telecoms sector, especially as the NBP will be completed this year.
