Skip to main content

Nigeria to achieve 30% broadband penetration by 2018

President-Buhari

The Federal Government says the country will achieve the 30 per cent national broadband penetration by 2018 as projected in the country’s National Broadband Plan.

The Minister of Communications, Mr Adebayo Shittu, disclosed this when he featured at the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) Forum in Abuja.

Shittu said the country had so far achieved between 18 to 20 per cent penetration as a result of private sector initiatives.

The minister said government was encouraging all GSM and ICT companies to invest in the communication sector to expand the broadband penetration.

He said the government was also encouraging a number of initiatives, including foreign companies coming to invest in the country, who had expressed interest.

“I have had the privilege of attending a number of international platforms where I met a lot of them as the chief marketer of the industry.

“The ministry of communications is not into business, government has no business in business, what the ministry does is to provide an enabling environment for operators and industry entrepreneurs to be encouraged to invest.

“When I say entrepreneur, it is not only Nigerian entrepreneurs even the foreign entrepreneurs.

“Already, the rate at which we are now, we are about 18 to 20 per cent penetration and all of this is mostly as a result of private sector initiative.

“I am very confident that by the Grace of God within the next two years, we will reach the target of 30 per cent,’’ he said.

On the recent proposed data tariff increase, Shittu said the matter was almost sorted out.

He said that he was not part of the initiative as the issue was between the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and the companies.

“When it happened, a lot of people accused me of taking money from these companies, so I have to explain the role I played and you would recall that the Senate because of the uproar that greeted the issue called stakeholders meeting.’’

The minister said that it was at that meeting that it became clear that what was said to be newly introduced had actually been the rate suspended years ago.

“The rate was agreed three years ago but perhaps because of uproar at the time it was suspended. The rate was 90 kobo and what is in operation is now is 55 kobo.

“And a lot of people out of mischief said that it was a 250 per cent increase but it was from 55 kobo to 90 kobo and if you don’t use it at all you don’t pay anything.’’

Shittu said it was after the Senate summoned all stakeholders and they provided facts and information that it became clear that data issue was on before it was later suspended.

According to him, the GSM companies said they were groaning under the burden of debt, that was why they needed the increase.

“The Senate understood that and said NCC and others ought to have engaged with members of the public and put all information in the public domain before announcing the increase,’’ he said.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Houthis Claim Attack on Central Israel in Response to Gaza ‘Massacres’

The ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas has taken a concerning regional turn as the Houthi rebels in Yemen claimed responsibility for an attack on central Israel. The group announced this as part of their escalating response to what they describe as "massacres" in Gaza amid the Israeli military’s operations in the strip. Details of the Attack The Houthis, a Shiite militant group with ties to Iran, declared that they launched missile and drone strikes targeting Israel. While the exact impact of these attacks remains unclear, reports suggest that Israel’s defense systems intercepted several threats over its airspace. This marks a significant escalation as the Houthis widen their involvement in the conflict beyond their typical operations within Yemen and neighboring Saudi Arabia. The Houthis’ Justification In their statement, the Houthis framed the attack as retaliation for Israel’s military actions in Gaza, which they characterized as indiscriminate bombings resultin...
Post a Comment
Read more

Fire: UniJos Senate convenes emergency meeting on Monday

Fire at the University of Jos Library University of Jos is to convene an emergency senate meeting on Monday to review the level of damage done to the institution by the Saturday night inferno. The Vice Chancellor, Prof. Sebastian Maimako, disclosed this on Sunday after inspecting areas affected by the incident. The fire, which lasted for more than six hours, destroyed the Library Complex that equally houses the faculties of management and social sciences. The fire also destroyed examination scripts, books and very crucial materials. Consequently, the vice-chancellor said “the Senate will meet tomorrow (Monday) to take a decision about the unmarked examination scripts that were burnt.” On the cause of the inferno, Maimako said investigation had commenced, adding that “nothing has been confirmed yet. We are still investigating.” The vice chancellor said the school was already working with federal authorities toward establishing a main fire station since the mini fire station in t...
Post a Comment
Read more

NDLEA arrests 252 suspects, seizes 3,073 kg Indian hemp

NDLEA operatives The NDLEA in Niger on Monday said that it had arrested 252 suspects and seized 3,073.9 kilogramme of Indian hemp(cannabis sativa) in the state. The NDLEA Commander in the state, Mr Joseph Iweajunwa, who disclosed this in Minna, said that the operations were carried out between January and September. “Our operations in Niger State from January to September 2016 led to the arrest of 252 suspects and seizure of 3,073.997 kilogramme of cannabis sativa,’’ he said. Iweajunwa said that within the period, the agency also seized 1, 530 litres of liquid drugs, especially cough syrup with codeine. He said the NDLEA also counselled and rehabilitated 90 drug addicts in the state within the period under review. The agency, he added, secured convictions of only nine of the suspects because the judge at the Federal High Court, Minna, went on leave. “ Now that the judge has resumed more suspects will be tried,’’ he said. He advised motorists, especially commercial vehicle dri...
Post a Comment
Read more