New Telegraph

FG pledges policies to boost connectivity

Following the recent landing of Equiano undersea cable system in Nigeria, the Federal Government has pledged to create an enabling environment and policies to drive nationwide broadband connectivity. Government said it would continue to drive policy initiatives that promote investment in infrastructure in the Nigerian telecoms industry to deepen connectivity in order to enhance the nation’s growth and development.

While commending Google LLC, the West Indian Ocean Cable Company (WIOCC) and other investors for bringing additional bandwidth capacity into the country to drive connectivity and growth, the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Pantami, said the Federal Government, through the ministry, would continue to drive the implementation of existing digital economy-oriented policies already put in place by the current administration. Pantami also promised an enabling environment that encourages foreign and local investment in infrastructure project such as the way Google and its co-investors have done.

The Executive Vice Chairman (EVC) of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Prof. Umar Danbatta, said the Commission’s expectations, initiatives and vision towards increasing broadband penetration, quality of service, advancement of a digital economy and commitment to improving national security through technological advancement, were on the priority list of its regulatory interventions.

He expressed delight that Equiano had joined the list of other submarine cables in the shores of Nigeria, including SAT3 cable, MainOne cable, Glo1 cable, ACE cable WACS cable, Dolphin by Natcom and MTN. He assured stakeholders of the Commission’s commitment towards ensuring that the huge bandwidth capacity from the cables at shore in Lagos would be transmitted to different part of the country to drive robust and ubiquitous infrastructure. “We are hopeful that Equiano, together with earlier undersea cables in the country, will have additional landing points in the hinterlands through collaborative efforts with NCC-licensed infrastructure companies (InfraCos).

“This will help to reduce retail data prices significantly and thereby complementing the Commission’s efforts at ensuring that affordable Internet services are available to boost the Commission’s on-going broadband policy initiatives,” he said. Danbatta reiterated the objective linkages of policies and plans in the telecoms ecosystem, and the national economic strategies.

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