The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Broadband

  • Broadband is next ICT industry revolution, says NCC

    The Nigerian  Communications Commission (NCC) has said the next revolution in the information communication technology (ICT) sector is broadband, adding that its availability and affordability will have multiplier effect on the economy.

    Its Deputy Director, Projects, Bashir Idris, who spoke on the sideline after receiving Government Agency of the Year Awards on behalf of the Executive Vice Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of the Commission, Dr Eugen Juwah in Lagos, said with the level of support the regulator has received from stakeholders, the broadband revolution will be fruitful in the coming years.

    He said the revolution will benefit the entire Nigerian populace as it will open up new vista of opportunities such as job creation, health, agriculture and so many others.

    He said the NCC will not relent in its efforts at ensuring that subscribers get the full value for their money through improved quality of services. “Subscribers should expect quality service provision, improved service quality, pursuit of broadband development, which is the next phase of our development,” Idris said, adding that companies are already keying into the broadband revolution.

    “In the next couple of years, there will be pervasive broadband and the consumers will be the best for it because they will be able to do whatever they want to do easily and affordably,” he said.

    He said it is a thing of joy to be recognised as it is a sign that efforts of the NCC at providing level playing field for all the operators and encouraging innovations are being acknowledged, adding however that the regulator will not be carried away by the awards but would remain focused to ensure that it delivers on its core mandates.

    He said: “It is gladdening to be recognised. It is however not going to be our limit as we will continue to do more. We will continue to strive to beat what we have achieved so far. I must add that the achievement of the industry is a function of the cooperation of all the stakeholders in the industry. This has made the agency to be of foremost recognition both in the country and outside the country. We thank the operators and service providers for cooperating with the NCC by ensuring that the rules are obeyed so that we have less friction in the industry.”

    The event was largely attended by telecommunication experts including Chairman of Teledom International, Emmanuel Ekuwem; Managing Director of VDT Communication, Biodun Omoniyi; Chairman of Association of Licensed Telecom Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) Gbenga Adebayo; while CEO of Zinox Technologies, Leo-Stan Ekeh chaired the event.

    DHL, Unified Payments, Jumia, GTBank, Vodacom  Business also won in different categories at the award.

  • Nigeria needs $200b to develop broadband infrastructure

    KPMG’s Partner, Management Consulting, Mr. Joseph Tegbe, has said Nigeria requires $200 billion to develop the broadband infrastructure required to take the nation to the next level between now and 2019.

    Tedge, who spoke at an international forum to woo investors to the nation’s broadband sector in Dubai, the United Arab Emirate (UAE), said over the past years, the country has witnessed massive investment, adding the growth in the social media space has catalsyed this growth.

    He said in the micro wave and optic fibre infrastructure provision space, Nigeria has demonstrated a readiness to accommodate foreign investors who would only be required to plug into the existing infrastructure, adding however that there is still limited coverage.

    “In the metropolitan transmission ring, what you see is limited coverage. Only about 10 per cent of the cities and towns are covered today. Moving to the homes, we have extremely limited coverage. These two top layers provide a huge opportunity and gap in the broadband supply chain

    “For investors in this room, an estimated $200billion is required annually over the next five years to meet this infrastructure gaps. Nigeria offers the best returns on investments according to recent studies,” Africa Telecoms & IT quoted Tegbe as saying at the forum which was organised by the Nigerian Communications Commission NCC).

    According to Tegbe, the Open Access Model of making broadband ubiquitous being championed by the regulator aligns squarely with the Federal Government’s National Broadband Plan, stressing that over the past years, the diversity and growth in the information communications technology (ICT) sector has been due largely to the regulatory environment which has been friendly to investment.

    He emphasised Nigeria’s market potential, which would always assure return on investment (RoI) to investors, adding that the World Bank has projected that the country’s population will overtake that of the United States (US) and even going to be the third largest populated country in the world next to China and India.

    Tegbe said: “Interestingly, the World Bank has projected that Nigeria will surpass the US in population by 2050 and most likely to become the third largest population by 2050 after China and India with a population of about 460 million people. That represents the size of the population that the investors have the opportunity of exploring.”

    He said investors stood to gain incentives such as tax holiday and pioneer status in addition to a ready-made market as a result of the large population and current low spread of broadband which is also a potential high growth market because of the expansive uptake of smart devices in the country.

    He recalled that in less than three years, the market had grown from being N162 million in 2011 to N150 billion to date, adding that it is the evidence of the widespread demand for broadband internet service.

    “Just in less than three years, this market has grown from N162 million in 2011 to N150 billion to date. This is evidence of the widespread demand for broadband internet service in Nigeria,” he said.

  • Smile deploys broadband services to oil, gas confab

    Smile Communications a broadband service provider has been commended for providing super-fast Wireless Fidelity (WiFi) internet service to participants at the just concluded Nigeria Oil and Gas Conference in Abuja.

    The speed and reliability of the WiFi internet service provided by the firm excited both guests and organisers of the conference, which earned the broadband company a lot of commendation. The company was commended and praised for providing the conference with very reliable and super-fast internet services.

    The annual Nigeria Oil and Gas Conference and Exhibition, under the auspices of the Ministry of Petroleum Resources and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), took place between March 16 and 19.

    Conference organisers expressed delight that the partnership with Smile helped to ensure that most of the exhibitors and visitors to the conference experienced uninterrupted internet services.

    Speaking on the firm’s participation at the annual conference, its Chief Marketing Officer, Alero Ladipo said the firm’s  involvement in this year’s  conference is in line with its quest of striking strategic alliance with relevant sectorial groups within corporate Nigeria.

    She noted that the oil and gas sector is vital to Smile’s corporate objective of helping the overall growth and development of the Nigerian economy.

    The conference provided a platform for the Nigerian oil and gas industry to discuss and debate the most pressing issues facing the industry as well as share successes and network with industry peers.

    The speaker line-up at the conference included senior representatives from government, new and existing managing directors of international oil companies operating in Nigeria, independent oil companies, international and indigenous services companies, financiers and lawyers who were able to address the delegates, voicing the different perspectives of the industry.

    The conference hosted over 6500 visitors and over 250 exhibiting companies, majority of which were indigenous. The exhibitors were able to showcase the latest technologies, products and services to current and potential business partners to secure deals and drive business forward. Exhibitors were unanimous in their praises for the ISP for providing efficient internet service that helped made the conference a resounding success.

    Ladipo thanked the exhibitors and visitors alike for patronising and appreciating Smile and its range of services. She noted that the company’s commendable outing at the conference is in keeping with its transformative objective of using the best and most innovative technologies to provide its customers with high quality, easy to use and affordable communication services. Smile’s vision and mission, she reiterated, remains the quest to be the broadband provider of choice in Nigeria and to enable its customers to fully benefit from the internet world.

  • Etisalat urges public private partnerships in broadband devt

    Etisalat urges public private partnerships in broadband devt

    The Chief Executive Officer of Etisalat Group, Ahmad Julfar,  has urged the adoption of public private partnership (PPP) approach to broadband development, arguing that access to broadband is a basic right for everyone who could be served smartly, where needed.

    He lamented that artificial policies of long pay-back on infrastructure investments and diminishing returns impact ability of carriers to invest and innovate

    Addressing global leading figures in telecoms at this year’s Mobile World Summit (MWS) by Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, Mr. Julfar said public internet needs to evolve further, stressing that it requires investment in capacity, new solutions, technologies and innovative business models.

    He argued that the carriers will not be able to drive this alone, as they face the risk of a big disruption due to the shifts across the value chain, necessitating the PPP approach.

    He said: “Etisalat believes that access to broadband is a basic right for everyone and it can be served smartly, where needed. But providing universal access to broadband poses a challenge for telcos because network investments not only have long pay-back periods and capex  (capital expenditure) on infrastructure today yields diminishing returns.”

    Mr. Julfar said “new investment models based on semi-public funding from governments or infrastructure-sharing models defined by regulators, are urgently needed and should be encouraged”.

    Speaking on Connecting Billions Across the Developing World, Mr. Julfar said: “The benefits of increasing connectivity are clear to see in economic, social and environmental fields, but there is a clear digital gap. Some 60 per cent of the world’s population remains unconnected, the majority of which is in rural areas of the developing world.”

    By 2020, approximately 3.8 billion men and women, or half of the world’s population will be connected to the internet through mobile and a vast majority of the new users will be in developing countries.

    “Telecoms revolutionises everything we do; it is the industry that changes all other industries; governments know it.  That is why, over the past 10 years, more than 150 governments have developed or are developing national broadband networks.  The primary goal is to make the country benefit from the economic impact of broadband. And we share a common interest to keep investing in the future internet,” he said.

    He proposed a number of changes in the telecoms ecosystem comprising governments, regulators, internet companies and non-governmental organisations (NGOs). He urged all to embrace new competitive models to allow telcos focus on market value creation through collaboration between private and public sectors to distribute more choice, affordability and welfare to citizens.

    “Some of the most innovative models today come from emerging countries. Etisalat Group takes a different approach in various developing countries that it operates in, and not one size fits all. Our ability to be flexible to meet individual market need drives our growth across the region. This flexible approach has enabled Etisalat Group to extend service provision for millions of people,” he said.

  • Council urges implementation of Broadband Plan

    The National Broadband Council has urged stakeholders in the information communications technology (ICT) industry to expedite action on the implementation of National Broadband Plan of the Federal Government.

    Rising from its meeting chaired by Communications Technology Minister, Dr. Omobola Johnson, it acknowledged the progress made on the implementation of the Broadband Plan in the last 18 months, especially the increased capacity rolled out by telcos and other infrastructure providers, which had resulted in a two per cent increase in broadband penetration last year.

    The Council also said the successful auction of the 2.3 gigahertz (GHz) spectrum, licensing of the first two infrastructure companies (Infracos) for metro fibre rollout were giant strides, adding that companies that won should quickly rollout to improve the pace of implementation.

    It commended the trial of TV White Spaces approved by Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) geared at reducing cost of internet access.

    A statement by Senior Special Assistant (Media) to the Minister, Efem Nkanga, said the Council also commended the telcos for their leadership in the area of base station infrastructure sharing and deployment and resolved that this needed to be extended to fibre.

    “Of particular concern to the Council, and the subject of extensive discussion during the meeting was the need to increase the landing points of international submarine cables beyond Lagos to other coastal states,” the statement said.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • ‘Broadband ‘ll boost GDP growth, reduce poverty’

    ‘Broadband ‘ll boost GDP growth, reduce poverty’

    Improved broadband penetration can create wealth and unlock huge opportunities for millions of Nigerians, Chairman, Zinox Group, Mr Leo Stan Ekeh has said.

    Ekeh, who spoke at a telecoms forum in Lagos, said enhanced broadband access would equip majority of Nigerians with the freedom to succeed in today’s digital society.

    He said: “With increased deployment of broadband and more equitable access for the majority, huge opportunities will be created for self-development in the country. Just consider the effect this will have on the cost of doing business and the unlimited resources it will place at our disposal. Presently, a lot of people do not see these opportunities due to the current infrastructural challenges being faced in the sector and the slow pace of ICT uptake in Nigeria.”

    Ekeh, who chaired the forum, said Nigeria’s population and cultural realities make the country a potentially lucrative market for broadband deployment, urging synergy between the government and private sector.

    He said: “We must increase the tempo because the market is very huge. The digital divide must be bridged and access must become a basic human right for everyone in this country. Government has a critical role to play in this regard. With liberalised bandwidth allocation, investor-friendly policies and enabling environment for private sector involvement, the multiplier effect of broadband deployment is unquantifiable and will rapidly transform Nigeria into a digital economy.”

    Citing infrastructural deficiencies, security issues, multiple taxation and poor network quality as some of the factors hampering mobile broadband operators in Nigeria, Ekeh whose Zinox Technologies has handled some of the biggest ICT projects in the country, urged participants to see the current challenges as temporary obstacles which will be surmounted with time, noting that Nigeria is a prime investment destination on the continent.

    The conference, which has Connect Nigeria: Exploring ICT Potential for Growth as its theme, also featured a panel discussion involving representatives of major players in the industry. They included the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Etisalat Nigeria, Mr Mathiew Wilshire, Managing Director, Airtel Nigeria, Mr Segun Ogunsanya and MTN’s Corporate Services Executive, Mr Wale Goodluck

    The panelists agreed that Nigeria was overdue for 3G/LTE deployment in view of the massive opportunities it holds for unleashing human capital development.

    However, the government intervention in eliminating impediments, such as the high cost of broadband infrastructure deployment, spectrum allocation and issues of Right of Way, were also deemed crucial to this initiative.

  • Nigeria woos broadband investors

    Despite attaining active telephone line connectivity of over 134 million and a teledensity of 96 per cent, the Federal Government has said there is still much to be done to achieve an all-inclusive penetration of telecoms across the country.

    The Minister of Communication Technology, Dr. (Mrs) Omobola Johnson, told investors, friends of Nigeria and the global information communication technology (ICT) community in Doha, Qatar, that the theme of the International Telecoms Union (ITU) Telecom World 2014, The Future in Focus aligns with the vision of the Federal Government.

    She urged investors to take advantage of existing investment climate in the country to invest in the country’s ICT industry.

    According to her, the government has been working hard to build a better and brighter future for her youthful population especially, who spoke at the Nigerian sponsored Leaders’ Lunch at the Qatar National Convention Centre, venue of the  event, told the audience that in the last three and a half years when the Communication Technology Ministry was created,  the government has been putting in place key policies and initiatives that set a solid foundation for the widespread use of ICTs by government, businesses and citizens to further their progress.

    “And we are seeing the impact of our efforts in the continued growth of the sector in Nigeria, its contribution to gross domestic product (GDP) and in the contribution of ICTs to the efficiency of other sectors of the economy,”she said.

    Executive Vice Chairman,  the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Dr. .Eugene Juwah, said he was particularly excited that the audience made out time to be at the Leaders’ Lunch which he said presented the team opportunity to interact  and update the  stories of the sector and share experiences.

    Juwah said:  “We will ruminate on our ICT potentials and opportunities as a nation, which we believe you may have influenced in one way or the other as opinion leaders in the industry.”

    The NCC boss said Nigeria being the most populous nation in Africa with over 170 million people and having made giant strides in ICT development, it is obvious that a lot has been happening in the industry.

    He said on the front burner is broadband availability and usage, adding that the theme of the conference is Broadband Nigeria, Enabling Access, Transforming Communities.

  • ‘Broadband penetration vital to online business growth’

    The Managing Director, Shop to My Door, an online trading platform, Mr Nduka Udeh, has said broadband penetration is needed to boost online trading in the country, adding that efforts of the government in this direction will address the issue if purposefully pursued.

    According to him, broadband availability has helped the firm to stabilise, arguing that when it first started, is started paying as much as $1,000 per month for a 256 kilo watt per second connection but now, it is just $100 for a four mega bytes per second connection.

    “So the cost of bandwidth has been falling and it is good for online trade,” he said.

    He said online shopping provides users a save, convenient and dependable means of purchasing items, adding that in spite of the teething problems confronting the sub-sector, it will continue to grow and contribute to the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP).

    Speaking at an ATM & Card Expo at eko Hotel & Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos, he said most people fail to realise that the money they ought to have saved shopping online by way of clearing and forwarding costs are taken off their necks when they shop online.

    According to him, with offices in the United Kingdom (UK), United States (US) and China, all the clients needed to do is use their automated teller machine (ATM) cards to shop from online stores in those with ease at the comfort of their homes and get it delivered between three and four days or four and six weeks depending on the type of shipping they desire.

    According to Udeh, fears about the security of online transactions may be keeping some people away from taking advantage of the platform, he however said the platform deployed by the firm is such that does not store the data of the customer, saying once the transaction is carried out, nothing concerning the card holders is ever stored.

    He said: “We encourage customers to pay for their items online and whenever they are having difficulties with it they pay through our website. Shop to My Door operates on a platform that doesn’t store cardholders’ data and once the payment goes, the card details automatically deletes. We use FFL encryption, verified by Visa and MasterCard’s secured option.”

  • Broadband to grow GDP by N190b

    Broadband to grow GDP by N190b

    Wireless broadband will grow the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by N190 billion next year, Director, Regulatory Affairs and Special Projects, Airtel Nigeria, Osondu Nwokoro has said.

    He, however lamented that the absence of fixed infrastructure and the punitive cost and burden to put same in place are daunting challenges. He added that wireless remains the only option.

    According to him, the National Broadband Policy (NBP) acknowledges the need for spectrum for mobile broadband and proposes to publish plan for freeing up spectrum for long term evolution (LTE) rollout; conduct licensing of 2.5/2.6 Gigahertz (GHz) spectrum this year; and facilitate accelerated wireless infrastructure expansion and upgrade with operators.

    He warned that the 700/800 megahertz (MHz) Digital dividend and 2.5/2.6GHz spectrum availability could be delayed till 2016 or beyond.

    Right of Way (RoW) permits and other planning approval processes and associated charges between different ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) at federal, state and local government levels remain a strong disincentive for infrastructure development.

    He said though the NBP proposes to secure RoW waivers with states and also pursues expedited RoWs, achieving these goals between the three tiers of government remains a daunting challenge.

    As a way out, he called on the Federal Government to mandate the National Frequency Management Council (NFMC) to articulate a spectrum roadmap to address timely availability, cost-effective pricing and licensing of the 700/800 MHz Digital Dividend spectrum band to support mobile broadband penetration.

    He also called for the resuscitation of the NFMC and expansion of its membership to incorporate private sector representation.

    “Consider 900 MHz and 2.5/2.6 GHz spectrum re-farming to support mobile broadband on LTE, design spectrum policy and regulation to support flexibility while supporting regional integration,” he said, adding that transition to a converged regulatory and spectrum environment by the merger of Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC) and the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) is consistent with international best practice.

  • Minister, NCC chief decry high cost of broadband roll-out

    Minister, NCC chief decry high cost of broadband roll-out

    Minister of Communications Technology, Mrs Omobola Johnson and the Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) have decried the huge cost of laying fibre optic cables (OFC), adding it was a disincentive to investment and a threat to deepening broadband penetration.

    The minister who spoke during a plenary session at the ongoing Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation (CTO) 53rd Council Meeting and 2013 Forum taking place in Abuja, said for every $1 spent on OFC, between 60 and 80 pence goes as cost of access.

    She said this punitive cost of access could make the rather expensive mobile broadband adoption to be in use for a long time, adding that this cost must go down for cost for broadband access cost to go down and become ubiquitous for everyone.

    According Mrs Omobloa, global internet access has attained the 40 per cent mark while in developing countries the story is still nothing to write home about.

    “Global Internet penetration rates have continued to increase and almost 40 per cent of the world’s population are now online. However, the numbers of people connected to the Internet are fewer in developing countries than in more industrialised ones.

    “One of the priority areas of this Forum is to assess the different stages of broadband development and discover best practice strategies for moving forward; and is a topic that will be instructive in increasing Internet penetration rates in developing countries.

    According to her, while an increasing number of countries, including Nigeria, have recently developed or are developing National Broadband Plans; countries that had done so earlier (such as the United Kingdom) provide important opportunities to learn about the implementation of such plans. These countries provide valuable insights on what works and why; as well as what can be improved upon and what to avoid during implementation

    The importance of driving affordable broadband access in the country, she disclosed is underpinned by the fact that of the 25 million users of FaceBook in the country, more than half are age below 25 years of age. She said this could be turned to advantage in the light of the limitless opportunities available through internet connectivity which could only facilitated by making the cost of access to the internet cheap.

    Dr Juwah said there is need for sustainable policy to drive accelerated broadband penetration in the country to allow a large number of the populace to tap into the huge opportunities the internet has provided.

    He said the national broadband plan has incidentally provided the template for the methodology that will be adopted be it private sector-driven or wholly public sector-driven or a “partnership led by the private sector.”

    He said this is important for deployment to both areas that are economically viable and those that are not. He said the regulatory approach will be multi-dimensional and will engender free and fair competition.

    According to him, the strategy must include a framework that will accelerate broadband access through open access model guided with “proactive enforcement” to discourage anti-competitive practices

    The minister and the EVC said the incentives available through the Universal Service Provision Fund (USPF) will continue to be used in driving broadband penetration, adding that government will also explore other ways to incentivise the operators.