The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has expressed its faith in the vision of the AfricaNEXT Conference (AfricaNXT) to “co-create a prosperous future for all Africans” through collaborations, conversations and programming that are oriented in harvesting, harnessing and leveraging innovative technologies.
The commission’s Director, Public Affairs, Dr. Ikechukwu Adinde, in a statement, quoted the Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (EVC/CEO) of NCC, Prof. Umar Danbatta, as saying during a chat with the Commission’s in-house media team last week, ahead of preparations by the Commission’s delegation to the Confab scheduled to hold from 27th February to 4th March 2022, that “the visualisations and concrete actions of the AfricaNXT conference are in congruence with NCC’s faith in the promise of technology to galvanise Nigeria’s, nay Africa’s, development.
The EVC stated that “this explains our continued support and participation at the Conference which is now in its 10th Year, and we will continue to play active roles in this event which takes place in Lagos annually.”
The EVC regretted his inability to lead NCC’s delegation to the Conference due to his playing a key governmental and institutional role at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2022, organised by GSM Association.
Formerly known as Social Media Week Lagos, the AfricaNXT Conference is the largest assemblage of innovators from across Africa and Africa’s Diasporan communities.
As a consistent programming partner of AfricaNXT, the NCC has been a regular feature of the conference and festival. Although the COVID-19 pandemic compelled the organisers to observe a low-key, strictly virtual conference in 2021, the 2020 conference was attended by over 20,000 people (both in-person and virtually).
At the 2020 conference, NCC’s discourse overviewed the Fifth Generation technology and services, where the panelists explained 5G, which at that time, seemed like an abstract idea to many.
At the AfricaNXT 2022, the NCC will take the discourse on 5G further in a more pragmatic context in view of the progress achieved over the past two years.
The thematic focus for its panel of discussants is, “Moving Forward Steadily, Timely And With Precision: The Socio-Economic Significance Of Deployment Of 5G Services”.
During the event, participants will have the opportunity to glean the benefits of 5G services to individuals, businesses, and the nation, with positive implications for the Continent as Nigeria matches steadily to become the first country in West Africa to deploy 5G technology services.
The journey to the birth of 5G services in Nigeria started in 2019. Between then and now, the Nigerian Communications Commission has been upbeat in rallying stakeholders to forge all necessary partnerships, collaborations and alliances.
Over the past months, there have been numerous stakeholders’ consultations, including an all-inclusive, public hearing at the National Assembly; and a presentation to the Federal Executive Council.
The NCC also launched a communications campaign, pivoted on public information and education, especially in the vortex of misconceptions, misinformation, disinformation and misinformation about 5G.
Following the approval by the Federal Government, a Proof of Concept trials, demonstrating the possibilities of 5G took place in some cities in Nigeria. The NCC, in collaboration with stakeholders, equally developed an Information Memorandum, which was reviewed by all stakeholders, following which a policy on 5G was instituted by the Federal Government. The policy was unveiled to the public by President Muhammadu Buhari on 25 January 2022.
Armed with an extant approval, the NCC also, had earlier conducted a globally-acclaimed auction of the 3.5GHz spectrum on 13 December 2021. The spectrum is to be used to deploy 5G services. The bid was won by two communications companies and licensees of the NCC – Mafab Communications and MTN Nigeria. Just few days ago, the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, officially handed to NCC the spectrum for 5G services for allocation to the winners of the bid.
At the handover ceremony, which held on 17th February 2022, in Abuja, Danbatta puts the status of implementation of 5G services metaphorically and figuratively by stating that “the coast is now clear” for the launch of 5G services in Nigeria.
Therefore, having fulfilled every condition precedent to the deployment of 5G services in Nigeria, the NCC, tried-and-true, and in demonstration of commitment to its noted operational efficiency and regulatory effectiveness, is not resting on its oars in public education and information sharing.
It is the reason the Commission is leveraging AfricaNXT, a rare, seminal, and historic assemblage of practical innovators and enthusiasts of technology and development, to deepen knowledge about 5G among its ever-widening geography of stakeholders.
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has restated irs committed to the implementation of various regulatory initiatives and programmes, in collaboration with all stakeholders in the telecom ecosystem, towards bridging identified gaps and shortages in critical telecom infrastructure in the country.
The Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (EVC/CEO) of NCC, Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta, stated this during an in-house interview in Abuja recently, explained that the over-arching objective of the initiatives is to fulfil Commission’s mandate and support extant and emergent policies and strategies of the Federal Government focused on providing ubiquitous, accessible and affordable broadband services in Nigeria.
The EVC emphasized the centrality of infrastructure to telecom service provisioning by asserting that availability of broadband in sufficiency was non-negotiable and irreducible in the nation’s strategy towards delivering pervasive telecom services.
Danbatta also noted the efforts of Government in context towards addressing infrastructure gaps, and commended state and non-state actors for the vision, diligence and continued dedication to the implementation of the Nigerian National Broadband Plan (NNBP) 2020-2025, an initiative of the Federal Government, being driven by NCC and conceived to address infrastructure gaps in the telecom and ICT sector.
The EVC expressed his delight that the new plan particularly took into consideration, the identified gaps and challenges in its precursor, the National Broadband Plan 2013-2018, which implementation the NCC was equally central to.
According to him, one of the identified gaps to robust connectivity was the fact that inadequate infrastructure remained a bane to achieving desired broadband penetration to boost access to services that will enhance economic growth and development.
Danbatta maintained that the Commission recognized the importance of infrastructure expansion and this explains its unequivocal commitment and desire to see the licensed Infrastructure Companies (InfraCos) work speedily and with precision to cascade fibre to the hinterland, in order to enhance robust telecom service provision.
He said the InfraCo licensees, expectedly, also prioritize stipulated licensing conditions to ensure expected milestones set by the Commission are achieved.
The EVC further clarified that Commission’s target for licensing the infraCos was to ensure the deployment of fibre infrastructure needed for pervasive broadband penetration across the 774 local government areas (LGAs). This, he said, will ensure access to telecoms services in the hinterlands of the country, and by so doing address the challenges of access confronting the un-served and underserved areas of the country.
Danbatta also placed on record Commission’s desire for inclusiveness as seminal to erecting sustainable telecom architecture. This, according to him is critical in ensuring the achievement of Federal Government’s target on digital access and financial inclusion.
One visible area of beneficial financial service riding on telecom infrastructure is the provision of Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) for financial transactions across various financial institutions’ platforms.
Danbatta asserted that the feat had eased financial transactions, even as he recalled that NCC is providing support for e-payment initiatives and policies of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), including the e-Naira project, which is the digital currency issued and regulated by the apex bank.
He expatiated: “So, the Commission is committed to ensuring inclusiveness by ensuring the provision of affordable and pervasive accessibility to the Internet as emphasised by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the United Nations (UN). We are aware that until commensurate infrastructure is deployed in the country, the country may not hit the required target necessary for the desired economic development.”
In addition, the telecom industry regulator stated noted the Commission had recorded remarkable improvement in the telecoms sector’s contribution to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), noting that this is besides facilitating investment, enhancing Quality of Service (QoS) to enhance consumer quality of experience and stakeholder satisfaction in line with the expectations of the Strategic Management Plan 2020-2024.
He assured that Commission will intensify its efforts in all areas of the Plan as streamlined in new Strategic Vision Implementation Plan (SVIP) 2021-2025, including facilitating strategic collaboration and partnering through which it has forged quantifiable strategic alliances with its ever-expanding array of stakeholders.
Concerning NCC’s pioneering strides in the deployment of Fifth Generation (5G) network in Sub-Saharan Africa, Danbatta explained that the rollout of 5G network in Nigeria will require more infrastructure for the service to reach all parts of the country. He called for concerted efforts and unwavering commitment of all stakeholders for the nation to achieve steady, timely and accurate deployment of 5G services because of its benefits to individuals, businesses and the growth of the country.
