The Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive (EVC/CE) of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Prof. Umar Danbatta yesterday in Stockholm, met Mr. Dan Sjoblom, the Director-General of the Swedish Post and Telecom Authority (PTS). Danbatta had strategic meetings with Managements of PTS, Spider, and Ericsson - stakeholders in Swedish telecom sector - to discuss data pricing, explore capacity-building opportunities, and to seek collaboration on fibre solutions.
As part of the processes instituted to deepen broadband penetration in Nigeria, the NCC has licensed six infrastructure companies (Infracos) to operate in a critical segment of the envisioned market by undertaking deployment of fibre, based on the Open Access Model (OAM). The Commission adopted the OAM for the cascading of fibre to all the states of the Federation, after careful consideration of many global practices.
Last week, at the 2019 budget performance review and defence of the 2020 budget of the Commission at the National Assembly, Danbatta sought the support of the legislature to enable this project to take off quickly because Commission's plan is to have broadband access point in each of the 774 Local Government Areas of Nigeria.
For that purpose, the Commission has already structured the country into seven zones - the original six geopolitical zones and Lagos constituting a separate zone because of its centrality to telecommunications operation on Nigeria.
The Nigerian Communications Commission is awaiting the critical support and approval from key arms of government to facilitate concrete implementation of the deployment of fibre across the country by the Infracos. The NCC particularly considers the fibre project as urgent and important in other to strengthen the infrastructure required to improve the quality of telecom services and to leapfrog the process of achieving full-blown digital economy.