Broadband Plan Implementation Needs FG, States Collaboration- MainOne

Ms. Funke Opeke, chief executive officer, MainOne, has reiterated that overcoming challenges that have slowed-down swift implementation of the National Broadband Plan (NNP) requires a supportive regulatory framework, long-term stability and encouragement to the investors.

These Opeke said are achievable through join efforts of the Federal, State and Local Governments.

The MainOne Boss who was fielding questions by Nigeria CommunicationsWeek during a press conference to mark MainOne’s 5th Anniversary, in Lagos, said that the Federal, State and Local Governments must not shy away from the obvious challenges faced by the telecoms and other investors in rolling-out services.

According to her, removal of arbitral charges, protection of critical (IT) public infrastructure and transparency in issuance of licencies, especially during spectrum allocation, are critical areas the President Muhammed Buhari led government should address, to lift the spirit of industry stakeholders and to the benefit of the general public.

Meanwhile, earlier in the year, Groupe Speciale Mobile Association stated in a report that despite having a fast growing and largest economy in Africa, Nigeria’s mobile broadband penetration has remained low when compared to other African countries.

It noted that due to various factors including high access rates of over 50 per cent of the population, that is, those who use a mobile despite not owning one, “data consumption growth, a rise in digital entrepreneurship, and a large youthful population, Nigeria presents a growing opportunity for investment and innovation in telecoms networks.”

Although, the Nigeria National Broadband Council had noted that the penetration in the country increased from six to eight per cent in 2014, however, GSMA reported that to fully realise the transformative potential of mobile in sub-Saharan Africa, the country’s mobile industry required a supportive regulatory framework that provided long-term stability and encouraged investment.

Nigerian National Broadband Plan 2013 – 2018 targets to achieve a five-fold increase in broadband penetration; from six per cent to 30 per cent by 2018.

In view of the national broadband plan, Opeke said, “the focal point is the implementation. Obviously, Government might not be able to implement 100% provisions of the plan, at the moment, but, it has to look at the critical areas and work on them.

“And in making that happen, the Federal and State Governments have to look at the areas of concerns; including the Local Government Councils, because the issue with the plan, just like other policies, has to do with implementation.

“For instance, the ex-Minister of Communications Technology, Dr (Mrs) Omobola Johnson, made the ‘Smart States’ project one of her key areas, but I don’t want to call it ‘multiple-taxation’, as one of the factors that worked against the project, however, the society must come together an align our priorities right and work on them for the benefits of everyone.

“If we look at what is happening in Rwanda, roads constructions are carried out with the provision for other utilities- fiber cables, electricity, water, etc., there are some States in Nigeria that are already doing that, so, why can’t others replicate such. It is not enough to generate more bandwidth, but with the capacity to deploy the last-mile infrastructure to the betterment of our people. The National broadband Plan is national, at the same time, requires all stakeholders to be part of the implementation”.

The MainOne CEO advocated for more security enforcement agents surveillance to ensure the critical IT infrastructure are protected; transparency in spectrum allocation by the regulator to enable company, prepared and has the capacity to roll-out services is given the opportunity, State desist from imposing arbitral charges, among other things.