The Nigerian
Communications Commission (NCC), has said provision has been made in its 2017
budget to widen telecommunications services to additional 40 million
people
across the country.
Executive Vice
Chairman of the commission, Umar Danbatta, represented by the Director of
Public Affairs, NCC, Tony Ojobo made this known recently during a sensitisation
workshop organised by NCC for law enforcement agencies on telecommunications
issues in Lagos.
Danbatta said the
commission had conducted a survey, which identified about 200 communities
nationwide with access gap, stressing that through the Universal Service
Provision Fund (ISPF) being managed by one of its departments, 40 million
people in these areas would be covered in 2017.
He said the
industry’s contribution to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was about
10 per cent and NCC was committed to seeing greater development in the sector.
“In this respect,
two Infrastructure Companies (InfraCos) have been licensed, while the remaining
five companies will be licensed shortly to commence the deployment of more
broadband fibre networks beyond the major cities in the country.
“Our model, anchored
on robust development of infrastructure, transmission and retail segment, is
expected to speed up the cascading of networks of fibre required by individuals
and businesses to improve life and catalyse economic growth,” he said.
According to him,
these tasks underscore the need for collaborations with security agencies to
curtail criminal assault against telecommunications infrastructure.
He said the industry
had witnessed rise in the theft of telecommunications infrastructure and vandalism
of installed
facilities and
equipment, adding that NCC was determined to move fast in its mandate of
harnessing the potential of the ICT sector to boost national economy.
Danbatta added that
the industry had witnessed usage of preregistered Subscribers Identification
Module (SIM) cards, all of which were infractions of the Nigerian
Communications Act 2003 and other extant regulations governing the industry.
He said that while
the commission rolled out various campaigns to raise awareness and made some
arrests with the support of the police, there was need for effective strategies
to ensure that anyone arrested was prosecuted.
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