By Chinenye Anuforo, [email protected]
Governments around the world see broadband as the“fourth utility,” alongside water, heating and electricity.
The power of broadband has been confirmed by recent research, which shows that broadband boosts GDP growth, creates jobs and stimulates innovation, while also enabling improvements in education, health care and other social services.
To realize the many benefits of broadband, governments around the world are implementing comprehensive nationwide plans, as well as more tightly focused broadband programs.
When combined with strategies that ensure the availability and affordability of ICT, these efforts help countries reap the benefits of broadband more quickly and provide broadband services to more citizens at an affordable price.
Nigeria is not left behind on this move as the Federal Government had set out an ambitious target to deepen broadband penetration in Nigeria under the National Broadband Plan(2020-2025).
“The implementation of the plan would contribute to the economic growth of the nation and also aims to deliver data download speeds across Nigeria at minimum of 25Mbps in urban areas, and 10Mbps in rural areas, with effective coverage available to at least 90% of the population by 2025 at a price not more than N390 per 1GB of data (2% of median income or 1% of minimum wage)”, the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami had said at an event in Lagos.
What is broadband?
Broadband can be defined in many ways, but is generally understood to be a service that enables reliable, high-speed transfer of data, voice and video over the Internet. The connectivity afforded by broadband is an essential element in a larger effort to make ICT resources available, affordable and reliable for individuals and businesses worldwide.
Why broadband?
Compared to narrowband connections, broadband networks provide unique benefits that enable emerging economies to enter and compete in world markets. When combined with other ICT resources, broadband delivers benefits including:
Ubiquitous access
Broadband etworks are always on and always available for usage.
Enhanced multimedia applications
Broadband speeds enable ready access to online video content, interactive applications, gaming and other multimedia resources.
Cost reductions
Web browsing, e-mail and other online activities can increase labor productivity and lower the cost of gathering market intelligence.
Improved communication
Broadband networks enable real-time communication through e-mail, instant messaging, Voice over-Internet Protocol (VoIP) and more, enabling businesses to communicate more frequently and at a lower cost with suppliers, customers and business partners worldwide.
Energy efficiency
Broadband reduces travel demands and leads to lower carbon emissions and greater overall energy efficiency.
Job growth
Along with its direct and positive impact on GDP, research has repeatedly shown that increased broadband penetration leads to significant job growth.
Broadband growth in Nigeria
Data from Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) showed that the nation’s broadband penetration has witnessed seven million new subscriptions in the last seven months .
According to the executive vice-chairman of the NCC, Prof. Umar Danbatta, Nigeria is on course to achieving 70 per cent national broadband coverage by 2025.
He explained that the steady growth in broadband penetration was positively impacting other sectors of the economy such as healthcare, education, agriculture, finance, transportation, commerce, governance, and other sectors.
He said, “Internet subscribers have grown from 90 million in 2015 to 150.36 million as at May 2022. Also, within the period under review, broadband penetration increased from 8 per cent to 43.67 per cent, indicating that over 83.3 million subscribers are on broadband networks of 3G and 4G. Indeed, between November 2021 and May 2022, the networks have added 7 million new users.
Danbatta said the commission, through the Universal Service Provision Fund, had recorded huge successes towards ensuring that telecommunications services are accessible to a large number of people (and communities) at affordable prices, in addition to various projects being implemented by the Commission to increase universal access and service as well as to enhance government efforts in poverty reduction.
According to him, the NCC through its Strategic Vision Implementation Plan 2021-2025, has taken a number of steps toward implementing all the digital economy-oriented policies that require the attention of the commission.
Challenges to overcome
Despite significant improvement the country has recorded in broadband penetration, some challenges must be overcome to ensure ubiquitous broadband and the country leads the region to the 2030 target. For instance, challenges such as poor electrical power supply infrastructure; pricing; Right of Way; distance and infrastructure.
Chairman, Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), Gbenga Adebayo, said the access gap in rural areas have continued to widen despite all promises made over the years by the Federal Government on rural telephony.
Adebayo said there are peo-ple who still have to move out of their compounds and environ-ments to higher lands or hills to make calls, receive calls or send text messages.
Efforts by NCC
As part of efforts, targeted at deepening broadband and FG’s digital agenda, there is an InfraCo project, which is expected to ensure broadband facilities in all the 774 local government areas of the country. Also, planned deployment of the 5G network by August 2022, whose auction was conducted by NCC on December 13, 2021, is also seen as another move that will bridge connectivity gaps in the country.
Also, the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy, 2020-2030 was unveiled by President Muhammadu Buhari. This was followed by the launch, in March, 2020, of the Nigerian National Broadband Plan (NNBP), 2020-2025, among several other digital economy policies, among which is National Policy for the Promotion of Indigenous Content in the Nigerian Telecommunications Sector (NPPIC).
As a justification to the role of NCC in the entire spectrum of digital economy drive in the country, the implementation offices for the NNBP and NDESP are placed under Danbatta’s watch, while some other regulatory initiatives are being emplaced by the Danbatta-led NCC to implement the NDEPS and other related digital economy policies.
The NCC also has put in place the Strategic Management Plan, 2020-2024 and the Strategic Vision Implementation Plan, 2020-2025, as the two blueprints to ensure the implementation of the digital economy policies whose implementation is being pushed by the minister, Prof. Isa Pantami.