Participants at the ongoing Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, Spain have been made to understand that the observable success in Nigerian’s telecoms sector and its contributions to GDP are not unconnected to the high level regulatory ingenuity of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).
Co-Leader of the Nigerian delegation, and Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Professor Umar Garba Danbatta, made the revelation as a panelist on the thematic Summit titled ‘Creating Incentives for Investment’.
According to him, just as other aspects of the industry had been looking good in the face of momentary economic shocks, broadband penetration grew from less than 10% to 21%, while broadband Internet penetration moved from 20 per cent to 40 per cent is an indication that the target 30 per cent growth in broadband growth by 2018 is no longer a tall order.
Explaining more to the excited audience in the presence of the leader of the delegation and Minister of Communications, Barrister Adebayo Shittu, EVC of NCC noted that the synergy between operational efficiency and regulatory excellence is currently driving his strategic 8-Point Agenda and best international standards in all areas of telecom regulation in Nigeria.
Danbatta made it clear to investors that in Spectrum management efficiency, remarkable progress was recorded in the well-known transparent spectrum auctions, one of which was 2.6GHz spectrum won by MTN on which it has deployed broadband LTE services.
Elated NCC boss revealed further that Glo, leading indigenous investor in the industry has also deployed similar services, resulting in percentage growth witnessed in broadband and broadband Internet penetration within a short period.
During the major panel discussion moderated by Brian Williamson, Partner, Communications Chambers, Jolier Zoiller of United States Department of State, and Hector Huici, Secretary of Communications in Argentina, Professor Danbatta said consistent with the protection and empowerment of the consumer item of the agenda, especially with quality of service, the Commission has committed to tackling it to its logical conclusion as NCC has concluded plans to drive a new campaign where consumers are considered first in service delivery in Nigeria.
