NCC committed to achieving 30% broadband penetration by 2018, says Danbatta

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) says it is committed to achieving the 30 per cent approved National Broadband Implementation Plan by 2018.

Prof. Umar Danbatta, Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, said this on Wednesday at the Nigeria Digital Innovation Conference in Ibadan.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the conference is sponsored by Centre for Cyber Awareness and Development (CECAD) in conjunction with Federal Ministry of Communication and NCC.

The theme of the conference is “Building a New Nigeria in Digital Economy: Policy, Innovation and Entrepreneurship’’

Danbatta, who was represented by Mr Reuben Muoka, NCC Head of Public Affairs, said that the plan was part of the 8-point agenda conceptualised for comprehensive national economic growth.

He said that Nigeria’s broadband penetration was empirically adjudged by the global telecom regulator, the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), as 21 per cent in 2017. no

“We have witnessed the success of online shopping malls, online banking and other transactions in a way that it is being experienced in far more developed countries.

“We are supporting ICT innovations in our institutions of higher learning and among several youth organisations across the country, ’’ he said.

Danbatta said that the Commission had taken the agenda as its guide in measuring regulatory impact and aligning development agenda in the course of regulating one of Africa’s biggest telecom market.

The Executive Vice Chairman said that the NCC would not relent in its effort at promoting investment opportunities and selling the country’s investment potentials to the international telecom community.

The NCC boss also said that the toll free 622 secondary consumer complaints initiative had been upgraded, adding that the success rate of resolution of consumer complaints on the platform had reached 75 per cent.

“We have intensified our monitoring and compliance activities to achieve sanity and compliance to the rules of the game.

“We are in the process of introducing a mandatory corporate governance code to improve the level of integrity of the industry,’’ he said.

Also speaking, Mr Gbenga Sesan, Executive Director, Paradigm Initiative Nigeria (PIN), said that lack of commitment to innovative ideas accounted for the 56 per cent unemployment rate in the country.

Sesan, who recalled how he made headway through strong innovation in 1997, charged students to stop giving excuses, saying such could limit their future.

“I don’t think there is a reason for any student to graduate without a skill with the presence of the internet. Stop complaining about government.

“What you become in the future is the product of whatever you start now,’’ he said.

Mr Sunday Afolayan, President, Nigeria Internet Registration Association (NIRA), said the association was committed to ensuring that the identity and investment of Nigerians was maintained and protected.

Afolayan also said that the association would ensure that Nigerians participated favourably in the digital space.

Mr Bayo Oyeleke, Deputy Rector, The Polytechnic Ibadan, thanked the organisers for choosing the institution as the venue for the conference in the South West Zone.

Oyeleke said that the conference would open the windows for students who participate actively.

NAN reports that the conference was organised to promote innovation in tertiary institutions and as an avenue for students to interact with stakeholders and experts in the digital innovation world.