Broadband Internet Penetration Attains 44.3%
Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has said that broadband penetration in the country has reached 44.30 per cent in readiness for the fifth Generation (5G) technology deployment.
The Executive Vice Chairman of the commission, Umar Danbatta, who spoke in Abuja at the public inquiry organised by the NCC on five regulatory instruments for stakeholders in the telecommunications industry, explained that as of June, 2022, there were more than 84 million internet subscriptions in the country.
He stressed that for the 5G technology to take shape seamlessly, there must be massive investments in infrastructures across the country.
However, he did not disclose the possibility of the roll-out of 5G planned for August 24 but he said that five instruments were existing instruments needed to be amended in tandem with the current reality of 5G deployment.
The instruments are type-approved regulations, guidelines on short code operation in Nigeria and guidelines on technical specifications for the deployment of communications infrastructures.
Others are the guidelines on advertisements and promotions and the consumers’ code of practice regulations.
The executive vice chairman noted that one of the realities of 5G deployment was that Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) had to invest heavily on infrastructures, especially with the technological advancements being anticipated in the industry.
Danbatta added that the industry had grown in leaps and bounds over the years, noting that it was made possible with the implementation of “the Nigerian National Broadband Plan (NNBP) 2020 – 2025, the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS) 2020 – 2030, its Strategic Management Plan (SMP) 2020-2024 and its Strategic Vision Implementation Plan (SVIP) 2021 – 2025. This drive has culminated in the Broadband penetration in Nigeria increasing by 91.70 per cent in the last four years.
“The country’s broadband penetration increased from 21.21 per cent in April 2017 to 40.66 per cent in April 2021. The Commission’s data show that in April 2021, 77,605,500 million Nigerians were connected to the Internet, up from 40,481,570 million in April 2017.
“The current broadband penetration as at June 2022 stands at 44.30per cent with more than eighty-four million internet subscriptions in the Country. While the Industry’s contributions to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has risen from 9.81per cent in Q4 2018 to 12.61per cent in Q4 2021. These strides are outcomes of the commission’s regulatory management of the Industry as well as its focused implementation of policies and strategies of the Federal Government of Nigeria.”
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