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Tag: ICT sector

  • ICT sector endowed with untapped potential, says expert

    ICT sector endowed with untapped potential, says expert

    Nigeria is on the verge of a significant technological shift, with vast untapped potential in the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Quomdo Systems Africa, Oluwole Asalu has said.

    In a report released yesterday, he said while the opportunities are abundant, challenges such as infrastructure gaps, regulatory hurdles, and the need for targeted investments in education remain.

    Asalu is a thought leader in the tech field in Nigeria, dedicated to advancing the nation’s tech ecosystem and fostering innovation and growth, said: “Nigeria’s large, youthful population is its greatest asset. Young Nigerians are driving innovation, creating groundbreaking solutions in fintech, e-commerce, and healthtech, among others. Our nation is brimming with entrepreneurial energy, but to unlock the full potential of this sector, strategic and sustained investments are crucial”.

    According to him, a critical challenge facing Nigeria’s ICT growth is the existing infrastructure gap. While mobile penetration is remarkably high, broadband connectivity remains inconsistent and inaccessible in many rural areas. Closing this digital divide is imperative to driving inclusive growth and ensuring that everyone, irrespective of location, can benefit from the digital economy.

     “To address this, there must be a concerted effort from both public and private sectors to expand broadband infrastructure. Improving data connectivity, establishing data centres, and enhancing power supply are foundational steps to ensure Nigeria is equipped for the digital future,” he said.

     “Our national broadband penetration target of 70% by 2025 is ambitious but attainable. It will require not only financial investments but also public-private collaborations, fostering partnerships that prioritise long-term solutions over quick wins. The more connected Nigeria becomes, the more the ICT sector can serve as a catalyst for national economic growth”.

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    He said: “Equally critical to Nigeria’s tech advancement is creating a regulatory framework that fosters innovation and protects entrepreneurs. Overregulation can stifle the very creativity that drives growth, while under-regulation risks leaving vital sectors exposed to risks like cyber threats”.

    Asalu said that to build a thriving tech ecosystem, Nigeria needs clear, forward-thinking policies that simplify doing business and enable startups to scale. Regulatory clarity on issues like data protection, intellectual property rights, and foreign investments will encourage both local and global players to operate within Nigeria’s digital landscape confidently.

     “This requires that the government and regulatory bodies continuously engage with the tech ecosystem to remain adaptive to evolving technologies and business models. Fostering this mutual understanding will encourage innovative approaches to regulations that support startups without suffocating their potential,” he said.

    He said that beyond infrastructure and regulation, the future of Nigeria’s ICT sector rests on its people.

     “Our youth are at the forefront of Africa’s tech innovation, but there’s a pressing need to bridge the gap between potential and readiness. To position Nigeria as a tech hub, education must become a priority. Currently, there is a mismatch between the skills required in the digital economy and what is being taught in our schools. Investments in tech education—whether through universities, coding academies, or vocational training—must be scaled. Empowering young Nigerians with skills in coding, artificial intelligence, data science, and cybersecurity will prepare them to thrive in the future workforce,” he said.

    This emphasis on tech education is more than just an economic necessity; it is a moral imperative. By equipping our youth with the tools to lead in the digital age, we ensure that no talent is wasted and that every young Nigerian has a shot at success in a fast-changing global market.

    He explained that startups are the heartbeat of Nigeria’s tech scene. Across sectors like fintech, healthtech, and agrotech, startups are solving Nigeria’s most pressing problems. Yet, despite their remarkable innovations, many struggle with scaling due to a lack of access to funding, mentorship, and infrastructure.

     “To strengthen the startup ecosystem, there needs to be a focus on creating a supportive environment where entrepreneurs can thrive. Access to early-stage funding, government-backed grants, and a network of investors willing to take long-term views on returns are key to enabling these businesses to grow,” he said.

    Additionally, establishing tech hubs and accelerators across Nigeria can foster community among tech entrepreneurs, providing a space for ideas to be nurtured and connections to be built. The role of government, again, is essential here. By creating incentives for venture capital firms and fostering collaboration between local and international tech investors, Nigeria can create a tech ecosystem that truly supports growth at scale.

    As Africa’s largest economy, Nigeria has the potential to become the continent’s foremost tech hub. This isn’t just about boosting the ICT sector—it’s about how technology can power growth across other critical sectors like agriculture, healthcare, and education.

  • ITU: Transparency, accountability remain challenge in ICT sector

    ITU: Transparency, accountability remain challenge in ICT sector

    Transparency and accountability in the digital technology space remained a challenge as the carbon footprint and energy consumption of the sector is growing with global demand for hardware, network services, data storage and emerging technologies, according to a report co-authored by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the World Benchmarking Alliance (WBA).

    ITU said alongside commitments expressed across industry to embrace digital growth and environmental sustainability, the report revealed an overall decline in progress towards climate goals, adding that Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and energy consumption in the global tech sector have increased, while transparency and accountability remain a challenge.

     Greening Digital Companies 2024 offers insights and best practices to help tech companies worldwide accelerate their emissions reductions, achieve low-carbon operations, and improve climate reporting.

    ITU Secretary-General Doreen Bogdan-Martin, said digital companies needed to take charge of transition.

    “An effective green transition needs digital companies to drive progress and lead by example. This report is an important tool for understanding where to focus efforts to maximize digital technology’s immense potential to advance sustainability in the face of climate change for the digital future we want.”

     The report’s findings formulate a clear call for action for leaders gathering at the Green Digital Action meeting at COP29’s landmark Digitalisation Day,” the ITU scribe said.

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    Digital technologies offer numerous socio-economic benefits and can accelerate progress on the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

    Tech can enhance weather predictions and climate-change monitoring, optimize energy use, and help integrate low-emission technologies.

    But to advance sustainable development, industry must monitor and address its own environmental challenges, including carbon emissions, energy and water consumption, e-waste, and raw-material depletion.

    Greening Digital Companies 2024 evaluates the greenhouse gas emissions and energy use of 200 leading digital companies around the world.

    Of the 200 companies covered in the report, 148 reported electricity consumption totaling 518 terawatt-hours (TWh) in 2022, about 1.9 per cent of the world total. The 10 companies with the highest consumption levels – all headquartered in East Asia or the United States – consumed 51 per cent of this total, nine per cent higher than in 2021.

    The report’s 2024 edition provides the first comprehensive overview of corporate value-chain emissions. Often referred to as “Scope 3,” these make up most of the emission footprints of digital companies.

    Scope 3 emissions include everything from material suppliers and outsourced device production to the use of a company’s end-products by consumers. Such end-products range from cell phones and computers to search engines and Artificial Intelligence (AI) chatbots.

    On average, these emissions are six times greater than the combined Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions that a company produces itself or is responsible for indirectly, according to the report.

    Many companies struggle to accurately calculate and attribute their Scope 3 emissions, with common challenges including lack of data from suppliers, double counting, and inconsistent application of emission-allocation principles.

    Director of Research and Digitisation at the World Benchmarking Alliance, Lourdes O. Montenegro, said: “Digital companies need to do their part in the fight against climate change. This report uniquely offers evidence-based insights on the sector’s state of play. We are bringing these data and insights to the attention of the international community to help ensure that the impact on people and planet is consequential to success in business.”

    On managing emissions from emerging technologies, the report noted that the rapid growth of AI technologies will further strain energy resources and keep adding to emissions.

    The report also noted the contributions that AI and other transformative technologies can make to support sustainable development.

    To help digital companies meet sustainability goals, Greening Digital Companies 2024 underscores the role of governments in implementing monitoring frameworks and accelerating the availability of green energy.

    Director of the ITU’s Telecommunication Development Bureau, Cosmas Luckyson Zavazava, sid:  “From the development point of view, it is increasingly important for industry players to more closely monitor their own greenhouse gas emissions and act to reduce emissions and energy use. GHG impacts can be devastating and include extreme and changing weather patterns and rising sea levels. If left unchecked, climate change will undo part of the development progress of the past. Governments can support the tech industry’s efforts to balance innovation with sustainability, fostering a twin transition towards digital growth and environmental responsibility.”

    Liberalizing energy markets, reducing red tape for permitting, modernizing power grids, and investing in energy storage are all ways that governments can support industry sustainability efforts. Renewable energy investment is also critical.

    According to the report, research and analysis will support green digital action. Greening Digital Companies 2024 reflects ITU’s wider push for effective climate action across the global tech industry.

    ITU, the UN Agency for Digital Technologies, urges the industry to take responsibility for its own emissions; help develop and promote technical standards to cut emissions in line with global climate goals; and encourages industry partners worldwide to support ITU’s Green Digital Action, aiming to strengthen the contribution of digital technologies to climate and environmental action.

  • NCC seeks academia’s collaboration to develop ICT sector

    The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) is seeking the collaboration of the academia to grow the industry and impact positively, not only the subscribers but also the environment.

    Its Executive Vice Chairman/CEO, Prof Garba Dambatta, who spoke during the roundtable with the academia in Lagos, said the advancement of technology across several spheres of human endeavour has created new industries, opportunities, new knowledge areas and challenges. This, he said, has increased the speed at which alignment between the different stakeholders in the economy needed to take place to ensure no aspect of development is left lagging.

    He said: “Traditionally, as we all know, regulation lags innovation. Thus, in the fast moving technology ecosystem, the need for regulators to raise their game to ensure regulations are relevant to existing realities is pertinent. This will ensure that the maximum benefit in innovation can be harnessed, and the potential risks mitigated on a timely basis.

    “In general, the academia is a key driver of innovation in all spheres of human endeavours. But in specific terms, the ideas, inventions and improvements that emanate from the academia are required by industry for improved efficiencies and productivity. With these in mind, the regulator as a critical component of any ecosystem aims to ensure all stakeholders are protected and the industry nurtured for maximum benefit to business and society.”

    According to Dambatta, the growth of new technologies such as internet of things (loT), Artificial Intelligence (Al), Cloud Computing, increased delivery of speed by various broadband technologies such as 4G and 5G technologies, advancement in processor and other electronics technologies have led to huge opportunities and risks. This, he said, has led to “the need for collaboration between academia, industry and regulators to ensure these technologies can be properly harnessed and standards built in such a way that is beneficial to all stakeholders”.

     

     

    The potential opportunities and important aspects that should be considered by all stakeholders are critical aspects that academia are invited to research and proffer pragmatic solutions, he added.

    “The future is something we should be ready for, and adapt to, or we should see the future as something which we can create. I want to look at three areas which are fundamental to the future.

    Firstly, I want to briefly look at innovation in terms of new ideas in ICT. Secondly, I want to look at industry growth in terms of building capabilities and stronger industry systems through a collaborative, academia-industry-led approach. I will also want to look at sustainability. For technology to be sustainable, it should imply that using it does not have any long-term adverse effect on the environment. And thirdly, perhaps the most important for this forum, I want to look at the role of the regulator in promoting synergy between the academia and the industry,” he said.

    According to him, innovation is seen as a way to breaking away from the old and embracing new technologies. “Innovate or Die” is a slogan used by many business enterprises. In perspective, innovation to the telcos can be a linear machine to deliver what they deliver best.  Every telecom provider will aspire to transform into that new agile future -looking telecom firm. “Recognising this increasing phenomenon, the Commission has, among other things, directed funds to encourage innovation by boosting research and development (R&D) in universities across the country. I am glad to say that our universities are making good progress in ICT R&D,’ he said.

    He said the NCC strives to ensure the engagement of all stakeholders to improve efficiency and impact consumers positively.

    The telecoms industry for example has enormous potential for enabling environmental, social and economic benefits through broadband connectivity, he posited, adding that as it continues to experience exponential traffic growth, network energy consumption is emerging as a critical issue.

    “In the last two decades, telecoms has emerged as a key driver of economic and social development in an increasingly knowledge intensive global scenario. It is said that “The greatest threat to our planet is the belief that someone else will save it”. To sustain the standard of living of an ever increasing Nigerian population, a strategy for continual development in telecoms technology needs to be given attention and timely research in that area be conducted by the academia that will result in minimal impact on the environment. ICT can bring about social benefit as well as economic development. Research contributes towards industry and sustainable technological development should not occur exclusively by means of efforts developed in labs or publication of papers.

    “We need to collaborate with an emphasis on determination on development of prototypes that meet the standards required by the industry.

    Academia is challenged to study the impact of various practices and issues peculiar to Nigerian operating environment on the operational efficiency and service delivery capability and performance by telecoms industry players for example to subscribers. It will surely be an interesting read to see the new insights this may provide,” Dambatta said.

     

     

  • Inconsistent policy, others killing ICT sector

    Inconsistent policy, others killing ICT sector

    Inconsistent policy, lack of inclusive strategy, disconnect between government-industry and the academia are some of the challenges hampering the growth of the information communication technology (ICT) sector.

    An expert and former President, Institute of Software Practitioners of Nigeria (ISPON), Chris Uwaje, said that there are also public awareness gap, uninformed user community and stakeholders, limited ICT research and development, funding mechanism, inadequate incentive and sustainable strategy.

    He spoke on: The Fourth Industrial Revolution: Weaponisation of the Cyberspace and Imperatives for National Digital Defence at the Nigeria Mobile Economic Summit and Expo 2017 in Lagos. According to him, the sector is also bedeviled with under assessment of local content capabilities and over-tasked regulation and responsibilities.

    For the country to move forward, Uwaje who is also the Director-General, DSIHUB Africa and Chair, IEEE-IoT Summit, however said the country’s national ICT vision and mission should be focused on software engineering and innovation development to ensure national ICT competitiveness and future survival.

    “The nation is encouraged to engage the challenges of digital mind, digital regime change revolution, by invigorating digital local content strategies, plans and strategies for national adoption.

    “To accelerate the diffusion of mobile economy, the implementation of the National Broadband Plan should be intensified and internet service providers (ISPs) should be encouraged to engage constructive IPv6 transition and migration. They should be encouraged to engage constructive IPv6 transition and migration.

    “The Senate Committee on Information and Communications Technology should without further delay, promote the enactment of National ICT Framework Bill to harmonise all ICT Acts into one foundation under the institutional framework of “The Office of the ICT General of the Federation.”

    He said the establishment of national and state digital mobile taskforce workgroups as a “Train the Trainer” strategy is imperative, adding that a National ICT Innovation Development Fund should be created to fuel the acceleration of digital economy innovation hubs, and promote start-up Hackathon at all levels.

  • Group to Buhari: declare emergency in ICT sector

    A group, Broadband 2018 Coalition, has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to urgently declare a state of emergency in the information communication technology (ICT) over Nigeria’s poor ranking on the ICT Development Index (IDI).

    Titled: “Measuring the Information Society Report (MISR)”, and published by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the report rated Nigeria 143 on the global scene.

    It lamented that it is a significant downward shift from the 137 position it was last year. On the African index, Nigeria also placed 15 behind countries such as Mauritius, South Africa, Kenya, Gabon, Ghana, Zimbabwe and Cote d’Ivoire.

    The ICT Development Index is a composite measure, which combines 11 indicators into one benchmark index to monitor and compare ICT developments among 176 countries across the world. The three-dimension frameworks used to measure the IDI are Access (level of ICT readiness, which includes five infrastructure and access indicators: fixed-telephone subscriptions, mobile-cellular telephone subscriptions, international Internet bandwidth per Internet user, households with a computer, and households with Internet access); use (level of ICT intensity which includes three intensity and usage indicators: individuals using the Internet, fixed broadband subscriptions, and mobile-broadband subscriptions) and skills (capabilities or skills which are important for ICTs and include three proxy indicators: years of schooling, gross secondary enrolment and gross tertiary enrolment).

    Coalition convener and technology expert, Danjuma Yusuf, lamented that Nigeria’s technology landscape needed urgent intervention, given its sharp stagnation and decline in recent years. He urged the Federal and state governments, and other relevant regulatory agencies to quickly focus on strategies that would increase the country’s global competitiveness in ICT.

    According to Yusuf, Nigeria has become an object of ridicule on global ICT rankings after being beaten by countries with much lower Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

    He said with direct connections to five submarine cables that cost $7billion of Africa’s $20billion submarine cable investments, Nigeria has no excuse for not leading the African index ahead of South Africa (with four submarine cables), Zimbabwe and Gabon with two cables each, and urged the Federal Government to declare a state of emergency in Nigeria’s ICT sector.

    Yusuf cited Kenya as an example of a country that also launched its Broadband policy in 2013, but is currently leading Africa in internet penetration with over 30 million people having (67 per cent) internet access, according to the Jumia Business Intelligence and GSMA ‘White Paper 2017: “Trends from the Kenyan Smartphone and eCommerce Industry”.

    He said the country was able to achieve the feat because of the proactive regulation and a government-funded National Optic Fibre Backbone Infrastructure (NOFBI) project, which rolled out hundreds of thousands kilometers of fiber optic cables across Kenya’s 47 counties.

    According to him, Kenya’s leadership initiatives have ensured that the country remains one of Africa’s leading recipients of foreign direct investment and the fastest advancing country in ICT on the continent.

    Mr. Yusuf urged speedy implementation of the five-year Broadband Plan stating broadband has played an outsized role in transforming societies and economic opportunities across the world, facilitating education and knowledge dissemination, enabling trade and commerce and contributing to growing entrepreneurship across the world.

  • Nigeria’s ICT sector and the economy

    When one looks around Nigeria today, it is very difficult not to notice the pace of change brought about by the ever-evolving Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector.  The growth of the ICT sector has developed so rapidly that it has literally changed the way we think about socio-economic development.
    In regards to ICT, Nigeria’s numbers are staggering.  Nigeria ranks number one in internet usage in Africa and eighth in the world.   Nigeria’s telecom sector is one of the largest in Africa, and is driven almost entirely by mobile technology.  Internet usage has increased rapidly in Nigeria over the past 10 years.
    ICT has opened up access to information on the world-wide web and citizens are better informed about matters of particular importance and interest to them.  The potential to transform lives and the nation’s economy through IT is well known by lawmakers and the IT/telecommunications sector.
    It would be a remarkable achievement if the public and private sector could work more closely together to address youth entrepreneurship and employment through ICT. To realize this vision, a plan for training, incubating, financing and implementation is needed. Youth engagement throughout the design and implementation process is critical for success.
    To promote the empowerment of young Nigerians to engage in the development process, leaders should seek to contribute to youth employment through entrepreneurship and capacity development in Nigeria. ICT should be recognized as both an input, and output of innovation. The emergence of technology hubs across the country, as well as the growing efforts by young Nigerian ”techpreneurs” in developing mobile applications to solve health, education, financial inclusion, agriculture, and other socio-economic challenges all point to evidence of ICTs as outputs of the innovation and entrepreneurship processes.
    Young people usually lack substantial mainstream support in terms of funding for the sustainable implementation and replication of their initiatives. Techpreneurs should receive support that fosters the adoption and diffusion of mobile applications, while simultaneously allowing them to continue growing their ventures. Currently, there is growing evidence that although individual techpreneurs are winning awards and being celebrated outside the country, the adoption and diffusion of home-grown mobile applications need to be further supported and promoted.
    Additionally, there are important infrastructure issues that pose barriers to ICT growth and internet penetration.  Service, quality, network congestion, lack of investment in infrastructure high broadband prices, the recession and lack of economic growth.
    Social factors impacting rapid growth include mass illiteracy rates with computers, the high cost of computers and internet services and goverment policies.
    It should be the intention of government to look to create an enabling environment and incentives for internet service providers to provide affordable rates and increased access to rural areas.  In today’s knowledge based economy, government cannot afford to have people left behind.
    In other parts of Africa and the Global South, important technical strides have been made in using mobile phones and other ICT instruments to help rural farmers purchase agricultural inputs and receive fair prices for their produce from remote locations.
    Perhaps one of the greatest innovations is in the health sector.  Telemedicine and e-health programmes have improved the lives of thousands of men, women and children.  Patients no longer have to travel major distances to receive preventive care and diagnosis.  The savings in terms of time and money are priceless.  Imagine receiving top rated health care in hundreds of miles away from the facility is truly amazing.
    The Federal Government has announced on several occasions its desire to grow the economy and create jobs through ICT.  The Ministry of Trade and Industry, the Ministry of Communication have been very vocal and focused in this area. The National Assembly is playing its part as well.  After partnering with the private sector on the “Ease of Doing Business” priority economic agenda, a new partnership has emerged on ICT.  The Nigeria ICT Policy Working Group is a partnership between the Office of the Senate President, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki and the Africa Business Center of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
    The purpose of the Working Group is to assemble government, the Nigerian ICT private sector, international investors development partners to work over several months to review the impediments to the growth of the ICT sector, infrastructure development, spread of broadband and government policies and offer recommendations for action by the Federal Government and National Assembly.
    The Working Group has the potential to deliver real socio-economic benefits to the people of Nigeria and the interest it has already garnered leads many to believe that Nigeria is on the verge of a robust, post-petroleum revival.

    •Clack writes from Abuja.

  • Exploring ICT sector to fight recession

    Exploring ICT sector to fight recession

    Though oil prices have started rebounding, analysts have urged the Federal Government not to relent on its efforts to diversify the economy. One sector they say could change the narrative is telecoms sector. It can pull the economy out of recession, having defied the ravages of the economic donwturn. LUCAS AJANAKU writes that the government will need to play its role as business enabler to unlock the potential.

    Experts have said the  telecoms sector has the capacity to pull the country out of recession. What has been lacking is the political will and policies to drive the enormous potential of the sector to make this happen.

    According to figures from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), the telecoms sector, the fastest growing in Africa, has recorded over $32 billion investment, over 152 million subscribers and close to 100 million internet subscriptions.

    Results of the 2014 rebasing of the economy indicated that the telecoms industry was contributing 10 per cent to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

    The NCC said if the objectives of the National Broadband Plan (NBP) are pursued doggedly, it would spur more development because broadband is a business enabler.

    President, Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON), Olusola Teniola, urged President Muhammadu Buhari to include ICT sector as part of his strategic economic diversification agenda because digital transformation is about technology and globalisation.

    Teniola, who is also the MD of Internet Solutions, said the Federal Government could seek assistance from global financial institutions such as the World Bank to develop the broadband infrastructure that will take the country to the next level of development.

    He said the sector could create additional jobs and other value addition to stimulate the growth of the GDP.

    CEO MTN Nigeria, Ferdi Moolman, said the government should cntinue to boost investment into the sector through well thought-out policies.

    While the telco said it is committed to pursuing its mission to provide the best data network to its over 60 million customers across the country, it, along side Pinet Infomratics and Airtel identified some factors are holding it back. These factors include but not limited to the following:

     

    Inflation

     

    Moolman said rise of headline inflation to about now18.72 per cent, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), is a major disincentive to investment.

     

    OTT

     

    According to him, there’s depletion of operators’ revenues by unlicensed providers of over-the-top (OTT) telecoms services that do not have any physical presence; nor pay any taxes; nor make any significant contribution to employment or other socio-economic objectives of government in the country.

     

    Forex scarcity

     

    Airtel CEO, Segun Ogunsanya and Moolman lament the inability of operators to access foreign exchange (forex). Moolman said this was particularly debilitating given that most of their input are sourced off-shore. This has very significantly increased both operating and capital expenses.

     

    Stunted tariff structure

     

    Despite these macro-economic challenges, telecom tariffs have declined significantly (over 67 per cent between 2007 and 2016) and data prices are amongst the lowest on the continent,Moolman added.

    Immediate past president, ATCON, Lanre Ajayi, said for the country to tap into the enormous potential of the sector, there was the need to resolve challenges facing the industry.

    He identified some of the challenges to include the National Broadband Plan; e-Government, National Critical Infrastructure; Frequency Management; Secondary  Spectrum Market; Free Spectrum; Infraco; Numbering Plan and regulatory independence.

    Others are facilitating low-cost finance for the development and production of local ICT products; leveraging Public-Private Partnership (PPP) to accelerate infrastructure development; and reclaiming and releasing of unused spectrum for trading or re-farming.

    He also stressed the need to pass into law, the Critical National Infrastructure Bill and implement the National Economic Council’s Resolution on Multiple Taxation, Levies and Charges on ICT infrastructure.

    There is also the need to review and amend the Taxes and Levies (Approved List for Collection) Act (Amendment) Order, 2015 as well as the implementation of the ‘Smart State Initiative’ in all the states of the federation in order to create sanity and properly streamline fees and levies chargeable from states.

    Ajayi also stressed the need to further educate the public of the legal implications of sites lockup as stated under the Criminal Justice Provision Act 2004.

    Sector analysts  say the slow growth of the ICT sector is a result of apathy towards indigenous products and services, lamenting that this had undermined patronage of local players in the  ICT sector.

    Experts say Nigeria loses about $2.8 billion yearly to uncontrolled importation of ICT hardware and software. These losses are in form of capital flight. The Federal Government should muster the political will to implement local content in the ICT sector to stop the avoidable forex losses.

    Addressing this challenge apparently necessitated a parastatal under the Communications Ministry, the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) to establish software testing laboratory as well as a scheme to train 1000 software testers across the country.  It also plans to come up with framework for local software standards.

    The industry, under the present dispensation, is striving to encourage international brands to establish factories in Nigeria or partner with local operators by buying components of their systems that are produced by local manufacturers as well as maintaining in-country research and development departments for the purpose of product conceptualisation, innovation, adaptation and design development.

    Communications Technology Minister, Adebayo Shittu said this was to be part of measures to implement local content development policy to protect indigenous players in the industry, including the Small and Medium scale Enterprises (SMEs).

    On the Smart Cities initiatives of the Ministry, he said the Federal Government was working with telcos to remove all the bottlenecks militating against deficiency in broadband penetration in Nigeria.

    He said: “Some countries like Rwanda have already embraced the smart city initiatives and they are already reaping its benefits. I would want to enjoin the remaining states to also key into the initiatives that would ultimately make their states smart.”

     

    Unsolicited messages,

    cold calls

     

    Subscribers have continued to suffer in silence over the menace of unsolicited messages and cold calls.

    Shittu warned telcos to address customers’ complaints ranging from poor quality of services (QoS), network congestion, spam messages, billing for services never rendered, under declaration of tax and under payment of tax by companies which had impacted negatively on consumers’ satisfaction.

    Shittu said he had invited telcos to Abuja to address these issues else sanctions would be applied to make them do the right things.

    In response Value Added Services Providers Association of Nigeria (VASPAN) urged their members to show some level of restraints.

    The Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Prof. Umar Danbatta said while the growth in the telecoms industry has continued to drive further growth in the economy, especially in financial services and e-commerce, the Commission has embarked on initiatives to further accelerate the growth into the future in addition to working with the government at all levels to address the identified challenges facing the operators.

    He said the acknowledgement of the various challenges being faced by the industry has also informed the unveiling of a roadmap for the industry, adding that the industry would be regulated for the benefit of all the stakeholders.

     

    Voice termination rates

    review

     

    The NCC said it has, however, hired PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) to, among other things, carry out an impact assessment on subsisting interconnect regime; identify shortfalls on its interconnection rate regime and provide workable solutions.

    It said this was the beginning of the process that would culminate in the review of mobile voice termination rates in the country.

    Danbatta, who gave indication to this at the Stakeholders’ Forum on the Cost Based Study for the Determination of Mobile Voice Termination Rate for Telecom Industry, said the review had become necessary in view of the changes in the sector since the 2013 review.

     

    Investments

     

    Telcos must continue to invest in the sector. For instance, MTN secured a 10-year national spectrum licence on a state-by-state as well as the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) for the spectrum band.

    It paid for 2 x 30 megahertz (MHz) in the 2.6 gigahertz (GHz) spectrum. Danbatta said it is a significant fillip to the realisation of the Eight-Point Agenda of his administration designed to transform the industry.

    It also paid N34billion to the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) for the acquisition of 700 megahertz (MHz) broadcasting spectrum.

    The acquisition of Visafone Communications Ltd with its 800MHz frequency band is another strategic step, the telco, said would allow it to roll out 4GLTE services across the country and improve its contribution to the GDP.

    Moolman said the telco planned to have about 1,500 LTE collocated sites backhauled with fibre optics offering 4G VoLTE to its over 60 million customers.

    He said the 2.6GHz band guarantees superior performance for wireless networks, especially 4G LTE services.

    “With the 2.6 GHz band, we expect to roll out and provide the full range of LTE services to Nigerians, empowering Nigeria with the latest mobile broadband technology.

    “Our subscribers, especially those in clustered areas, such as the major cities, can expect distinct improvements in browsing speed, quality and experience. This means that they will have fast access to high definition video streaming as well as conferencing and calling, lag-free music streaming, and improved data uploads and downloads,” Moolman said.

  • Govt eyes 20% jump in ICT sector contribu!tion to GDP

    The Federal Government says it is eyeing a 20 per cent increase in he contribution of the information communication technology (ICT) sector to its economic diversification agenda.

    Minister of Communications Technology Adebayo Shittu, who spoke during the Institute of Directors’ (IoD’s) new members’ induction as Special Guest of Honour/Guest Speaker at Eko Hotel and Suites, Victoria Island, said to actualise this ambitious dream, a new roadmap had been drafted with substantial input from stakeholders in the sector. The document is awaiting the blessing of the Federal Executive Council (FEC).

    Represented by the Permanent Secretary, Communications Technology Ministry, Sunday Echono, at the event held at weekend, the minister said all the challenges, including multiple taxation/ regulation, right of way (RoW), alternative energy sources to power base transmission stations (BTS), and even upgrade of the legal and regulatory frameworks were being fine-tuned so as to create a congenial operating environment to attract further foreign direct investments (FDIs).

    Shittu, who lamented the existence of indigenous skills gap, quality of service, cut-throat competition, and silo approach to e-government implementation, promised that the document pending in the FEC would address some of these challenges.

    He said globally, big data, cloud and internet of things (IoTs) are three major factors dominating the table. For Nigeria to take advantage of these new trends, he said the Federal Government has directed the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to advertise spectrum sale to the remaining five infrastructure companies (Infracos) to complement existing optic fibre cables to deepen broadband penetration in line with the National Broadband Plan of the Federal Government.

    According to Shittu, business process outsourcing (BPO), which yearly contributes substantially to the GDP of a country, such as India could be developed in the country so that Nigeria could become the sub-regional hub for BPO and earn foreign exchange too.

  • Fed Govt eyes 20% ICT sector contribution to GDP

    Fed Govt eyes 20% ICT sector contribution to GDP

    The Federal Government says it is eyeing a 20 per cent increase in the contribution of the information communication technology (ICT) sector to its economic diversification agenda.

    Minister of Communications Technology Adebayo Shittu, who spoke during the Institute of Directors’ (IoD’s) new members’ induction as Special Guest of Honour/Guest Speaker at Eko Hotel and Suites, said to actualise this ambitious dream, a new roadmap had been drafted with substantial inputs from stakeholders in the sector. The document is awaiting the blessing of the Federal Executive Council (FEC).

    Represented by the Permanent Secretary, Communications Technology Ministry, Sunday Echono, at the event held at weekend, the minister said all the challenges, including multiple taxation/ regulation, right of way (RoW), alternative energy sources to power base transmission stations (BTS), and even upgrade of the legal and regulatory frameworks were being fine-tuned so as create a congenial operating environment to attract further foreign direct investments (FDIs).

    Shittu, who lamented that the existence of indigenous skills gap, quality of service, cut-throat competition, and silo approach to e-government implementation promised that the document pending in the FEC would address some of these challenges.

    He said globally, big data, cloud and internet of things (IoTs) are three major factors dominating the table. For Nigeria to take advantage of these new trends, he said the Federal Government has directed the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to advertise spectrum sale to the remaining five infrastructure companies (Infracos) to complement existing optic fibre cables to deepen broadband penetration in line with the National Broadband Plan of the Federal Government.

    According to Shittu, business process outsourcing (BPO), which yearly contributes substantially to the GDP of a country, such as India could be developed in the country so that Nigeria could become the sub-regional hub for BPO and earn foreign exchange too.

  • Fed Govt eyes $50b ICT sector investment

    Fed Govt eyes $50b ICT sector investment

    • Broadband campaign begins

    The Federal Government yesterday in Lagos unveiled plans to double investments in the information communication technology (ICT) sector from its current $25 billion level to $50 billion in the coming years.

    Specifically, the Federal Government is targeting another $25 billion in private sector investments into the sector.

    Minister of Communication Technology, Mrs Omobola Johnson who made this known during the launch of ‘Broadband Campaign” with ‘Connected Nigeria, Connected Nigerians’ as theme said pursuant to achieving this target, the Ministry and the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) have been going round the world selling the ICT sector to the international investing public.

    Mrs Johnson said: “We need $25 billion more in the next few years into the country. The NCC is going around, as the ministry also does, to win more investors into the country to boost broadband penetration in Nigeria.”

    According to her, though the broadband penetration in the country is currently stands at between 6-7 per cent, the ministry is working with all stakeholders to ensure that the National Broadband Plan 2013-2018 implementation is achieved, adding that one of the steps taken to ensure its implementation is the setting up of a council.

    She said: “To ensure that the Plan is monitored, we set up the Broadband Council in 2013 to ensure proper monitoring of the Broadband Plan implementation.”

    She said the ministry has been working with state governments and other relevant stakeholders to tackle technical, financial and environmental obstacles to accelerated broadband roll-out across the country.

    She expressed optimism that with ICT sector currently contributing about eight per cent to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the sector will do more if the hurdles on the way of operators are removed.

    She recalled the landmark memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed by the Lagos State government and the operators as a loud testimony to the efforts of the ministry at creating a conducive environment for business in the country. According to her, the MoU led to the reduction of the cost of fibre optic deployment by 85 per cent, stressing that similar move is being made to ensure the that Right of Way (RoW) cost is drastically reduced for faster infrastructure deployment.