The Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC) chief executive officer, Umar Garba Danbatta, at a stakeholders consultative forum in Bayelsa on Thursday, explained that the industry regulator has taken measures to improve regulations to accommodate the rapid and continuous development in the sector.
According to him the telecom industry has witnessed milestones in more ways than one, including the rapid growth in technology, which is redefining service delivery and creating wide and high expectations from all stakeholders.
Danbatta, who was represented at the forum by the director of public communication, Director of Public Affairs, Reuben Muoka, disclosed that the commission “is currently reviewing the scope and structure of its existing licenses to make them more robust and to accommodate some of the identified new industry trends.
“In line with the Nigeria National Broadband Plan (NNBP 2020–2025), the NCC is providing industry leadership to facilitate the achievement of 90 percent broadband penetration by the year 2025 and well above 50 percent at the end of 2023.
“Currently, over one hundred and fifty (I50) million Nigerians have access to the internet, while over eighty (80) million can access high-speed internet.”
In the same vein, the NCC Executive Commissioner, stakeholder management, Adeleke Adewole, explained that the commission has played an effective role in placing Nigeria in a vantage position to tap into the expected global revenue from the deployment of 5G technology.
According to him, a market study has shown that the deployment of 5G technology services will result in $13.2 trillion in global economic value by 2035, generating 22.3 million jobs in the 5G global value chain alone.
He also attributed the exponential growth of the telecommunications sector in the country largely to the effective policies and legal and regulatory framework implemented by the commission.
“The communications sector has proven to be pivotal to the growth and development of the national economy.
“The sector has continually ensured that the digital economy agenda of the Federal Government is established on solid foundations. It has also proven to be the catalyst for entrenching the activities of both the public and private sectors in the digital space seamlessly,” Adewolu said.