…As Danbatta reels out achievements since 2015
By Joyce Remi-Babayeju
The Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communication Commission, NCC, Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta has disclosed that the national target of the Commission is to achieve 70 percent broadband penetration by 2025.
Prof. Danbatta made this public at a special media chat with executive editors and media chiefs from the northern part of the country.
Danbatta stated that the national target is to achieve 70 percent broadband penetration by 2025 is receiving renewed attention from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), which promises 50 percent before the end of 2023.
Prof. Danbatta, who hosted the media executives, highlighted this to unveil his achievements since the resumption of office until date.
Furthermore, the NCC EVC informed the media chiefs that Fifth Generation (5G) services subscriptions have already hit half a million in subscription, adding that the various efforts of the Commission to improve broadband penetration are yielding fruitful results with the current estimates as at July 2023 standing at 47.01 percent.
Referring to the reviewed five-pillar Strategic Vision Plan as the Commission’s building block, the EVC disclosed the 119 milestones achieved under the five strategic pillars, including regulatory excellence, universal broadband, market development, digital economy and strategic collaboration.
He stated that through effective implementation of NCC’s mandates under his leadership and cooperation of internal and external stakeholders since 2015, the Nigerian telecommunications industry has achieved remarkable milestones under our leadership.
While we acknowledge the challenges encountered by the industry, we have also witnessed explosive growth, improved regulatory standards, and digital innovations that have garnered global recognition,” he said.
Danbatta who .reeled out the impressive statistics achieved under his leadership at NCC from 2015 to date, disclosed that active telephone subscribers had increased from less than 150.7 million to 218.9 million, representing a density growth of 115.70 percent from 107.87 percent in 2015.
Through stimulating broadband infrastructure across the country, Danbatta said broadband penetration, which stood at 6 percent in 2015, has increased significantly to 47.01 percent as of July 2023, enhancing over 89.73 million subscriptions on 3G, 4G and 5G networks in the country. Additionally, general Internet subscriptions have reached 159.5 million, up from less than 100 million in 2015.
“Also, from 8 percent contribution to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2015, the telecommunications sector now contributes 16 percent quarterly to the Nigerian economy as of the second quarter of 2023.
Besides, following the authorization of more telecommunications companies to operate in the Nigeria’s telecoms sector, the investments profile has increased tremendously from $38 billion in 2015 to $75 billion currently and this keeps growing daily. From the sales of Fifth Generation (5G) C-Band Spectrum, the NCC has generated over $847.8 million for the Federal Government,” he said.
“Other milestones and initiatives recorded aside the regulatory activities that culminated in the landmark launch of 5G services in Nigeria include the introduction of Spectrum Trading Guidelines, re-farming and re-planning certain spectrum bands for efficiency, the em placed collaborative process for the release of C-Band Spectrum by Nigerian Communications Satellite (NIGCOMSAT) Limited, and introduction of the Expanded Revenue Assurance Solution (ERAS) to address revenue leakages and improve government revenue from the telecom’s industry.
“These initiatives also include Licensing of Satellite Earth Stations, issuing of operating license to SpaceX Satellite, facilitating the landing of additional submarine Cables, such as the Google 2,000 km Equiano subsea Internet cable in 2022, listing of MTN on the Niger
