ASHAMU AUSTIN ADELANI, Abuja
The Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC) and her Executive Vice-Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, Prof Umar Garba Danbatta have been respectively recognized as award recipients of the 2020 Nigeria Tech Innovation and Telecoms Awards (NTITA) for Broadband Development.
A Press release issued yesterday by the Commission’s Director of Public Affairs, Dr Ikechukwu Adinde, disclosed that the awards were given at the weekend in Abuja at an elaborate event jointly organized by Instinct Wave, aleading business-to-business event organizer and the Association of Telecoms Companies of Nigeria (ATCON).
The event which also saw other industry stakeholders and the Hon. Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, carting away distinguished awards, Danbatta was honoured with the “Broadband Oxygenator of the Year”; for his remarkable role and commitment to the development of broadband infrastructure to support the country’s digital economy drive while NCC, as a corporate organization received the “Outstanding Contribution to Driving Greater Broadband Penetration Award of the Year.”
Through the articulation of a Strategic Vision Plan (SVP) for the fiscal years 2015-2020, which symbolises the focused leadership Danbatta brought on board as the chief telecoms regulator in the country, broadband penetration increased from 6 percent in 2015 to 45.43 in September, 2020.
Also, basic active internet subscription grew from 90 million to 143.7 million while active voice subscription increased from 151 million to 205.25 percent during the same period with teledensity also reaching 107.53 percent as at end of September, 2020.
The last five years have seen the number of licensed Infrastructure Companies (InfraCo) increasing from two in 2015 to six currently. The InfraCos are to deploy broadband infrastructure, on a wholesale basis in the 774 Local Government Areas in Nigeria.
The Commission is currently reviewing the framework for the licensing of InfraCo to ensure sustainable funding options for effective implementation of the proposed national fibre project towards increasing broadband penetration to 70 percent target, as set in the new national broadband plan by 2025.
The ongoing review of the InfraCo framework is to cater for the delays in take-off, change in exchange rate, supply chain and other challenges imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic with respect to InfraCo implementation.
NCC and Danbatta’s recognitions at the NTITA 2020 were also hinged on the increase in the contribution of the telecom sector the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) from 8.5 percent in 2015 to 14.30 percent as of the second quarter of 2020, translating to N2.272 trillion in financial value.In the last five years, under Danbatta leadership, telecoms investment grew from around $38 billion to over $70 billion currently with appreciable remittances in spectrum fees and
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