Cut down by half the year Internet cost would be halved in Nigeria, users tell Minister
Barely 24 hours after the Federal Government, through the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Pantami, vowed to halve the cost of data and Internet services by 2025, Nigerian internet users have advised the minister to tell them what it will cost before the end of this administration by 2023 and not 2025 when it had left.
Some tech savvy and enthusiasts’, who spoke to our correspondents in a random opinion sampling on Tuesday in Lagos and Abuja, said time has gone when they believe any government that gives a project terminal date away from the period it is in power in Nigeria.
Majority of the respondents therefore advised the Minister to tell Nigerians what the cost of internet would be before he leaves office in May, 2023.
Currently, data bundle prices remain high for SMEs and budding businesses.
For example, whereas it takes about N2,000 to get average of five gigabyte of data in Nigeria, across EU and UK to be precise, about N10,000 (20 pounds) to buy 80 gigabyte of data now.
Speaking during training for journalists organised by the ministry and the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), he argued that the high cost of data for mobile communications was due to vandalism of ICT infrastructure and Right-of-Way concerns.
According to him, with the broadband penetration drive of his ministry, the cost of data would be reduced by more than 50 per cent by 2025. However, he was silent on the kind of broadband he was referring as in whether it is fixed which is highly needed and more reliable or mobile broadband which the economy had relied on.
He revealed that sooner than later more critical sector of the economy would be trained on digital skills training including farmers, residents of rural areas and other beneficiaries.
