Pantami woos state governors on broadband, Obaseki shares experience

The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Professor Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, told a meeting for state governors in Abuja on Thursday that the potential for broadband is so huge that it is made available to their citizens, it will be the best gift for their economic emancipation.

Pantami told state governors and their representatives as well as other industry stakeholders at the first edition of the Broadband Technical Awareness Forum for Governors (BTAF), organized by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) , where the Governor of Edo State, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, gave an impressive record of what he has already achieved with information and communication technology (ICT) in the sector of education and many other sectors of the economy of Edo State.

Pantami said that increased support and collaboration will be needed from state governors to address the challenges of deploying broadband infrastructure by telecom companies, which should deploy the required infrastructure to deliver broadband services to every nook and corner of Nigeria.

"It is because, more than ever before, our security, economic and educational development depend on a state-based broadband structure and framework that will articulate the key objectives of the Nigerian national plan. for Broadband (NNBP) 2020-2025, and that is the essence of this forum today,” he said.

According to the minister, access to broadband is now globally recognized as a necessity and not a luxury, which explains the decision of the federal government to develop plans for broadband aimed at deepening connectivity in the country in order to improve socio-economic development.

The minister who established correlations between broadband penetration and gross domestic product (GDP) growth, said countries with high broadband network density have higher GDP per capita for citizens. He said the steady growth in broadband penetration over the years in Nigeria has a direct impact on the economic growth of the country.

Gov. Obaseki, who delivered a message of goodwill on behalf of other state governors and enumerated efforts by state governments to encourage the deployment of broadband infrastructure, assured stakeholders of the willingness and of the willingness of state governments to work more with the federal government, but stressed the need for open dialogue and trust between the states and the federal government.

Representatives of other state governors also expressed their determination to further cooperate with the Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy, the NCC and other telecommunications companies to facilitate the deployment of infrastructure of fiber which they believe would improve the socio-economic life of citizens.

The Chairman of the Board of Commissioners of the NCC, Prof. Adeolu Akande, said in his address that Nigeria deserves to be in step with the digital switchover in all areas because we cannot afford to stay lagging among countries leveraging broadband for socio-economic development.

“We recognize the fact that Nigeria is a nation with unifying units. Therefore, it would be difficult to achieve the faster and desired level of broadband penetration without effective collaboration with state governors,” he said.

Akande particularly underlined the centrality of synergy to overcome all the challenges that compromise the deployment of broadband, in particular multiple taxation, right of way (RoW), denial of access to telecommunications sites for maintenance, vandalism, insecurity, among others,” the Chairman of the NCC Board of Commissioners said.

The Executive Vice President of the NCC, Professor Umar Danbatta, said in his own statement that the objective of the event was to seek better understanding and rich solutions to all issues affecting faster deployment of the broadband. He reminded attendees that "although we are making incremental progress towards our goal, this forum will provide us with more in-depth insights into how to address the challenges identified for broadband deployment".

At the event attended by over 170 delegates and after discussion at the technical panel session, several resolutions were made to ensure accessible, available and affordable broadband services that will support overall socio-economic development from the country. A key decision taken at the forum is the urgent need to establish a State Broadband Coordinating Council, as a state-level sub-national structure that is urgently needed to improve the achievement NNBP objectives.