.. FG woos more law abiding investors ready to promote Nigeria’s digital economy
By Joyce Remi-Babayeju
Digital giant, Meta formerly known as Facebook, has disclosed plans to land a 2 Africa submarine Cable network in Nigeria, the longest digital network in Africa.
The Meta Vice President for Africa, the Middle East and Turkey, Kojo Boakye disclosed this recently when he led a delegation to visit the Nigerian Communication Commission, NCC, Executive Vice Chairman, Dr. Aminu Maida, at the Commission’s headquarters in Abuja.
Boakye informed the NCC boss that the visit was to congratulate the EVC on his appointment by the President and to intimate him of ongoing efforts to land 2Africa Cable in Nigeria.
Boakye said, “At 45,000 kilometers long, the 2Africa submarine cable will be one of the world’s largest subsea cable projects and will interconnect Europe (eastward via Egypt), Asia (via Saudi Arabia), and Africa. He said the system will go live in 2023, delivering more than the total combined capacity of all subsea cables currently serving Africa, with a design capacity of up to 180 terabytes per second (Tbps).
Boakye also assured that the 2Africa will deliver much-needed Internet capacity and reliability across large parts of Africa, supplement the fast-growing capacity demand in the Middle East and underpin further growth of 4G, 5G and fixed broadband access for billions of people, especially in Nigeria.
He solicited NCC’s support in sailing through all necessary legal and regulatory hurdles in landing the submarine cable to complement existing backbone infrastructure in Nigeria. He also said Meta, through a consortium, plans to land 2Africa cable simultaneously in Lagos and Akwa-Ibom States “to ensure those not yet connected are connected while those already connected are provided the opportunity for enhanced and affordable access.”
Furthermore, the Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (EVC/CEO) of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Dr. Aminu Maida, reiterated the Commission’s support to law-abiding investors like Meta, (formerly Facebook), which are ready to promote the Nigerian Government and digital economy.
He started that the regulatory support to all investors, including operators in Nigeria, adding that the Commission places compliance to industry laws guiding the sector.
Maida stated that such regulations and guidelines give a level-playing field for all licensees and other stakeholders in the industry to sustaining a healthy competition and guaranteeing a sustainable growth in the Nigerian telecoms sector.
