Telecom
Broadband: Pantami, Danbatta Assure of FG’s Plans to Bridge Infrastructure Deficit
The Nigerian government has reassured of its commitment to ensure pervasive and ubiquitous broadband penetration in the country.
Therefore, the ongoing policy directions and regulatory measures being put in place by the Nigerian Government towards bridging identified broadband infrastructure gaps shall be sustained in order to facilitate increased access to the Internet by citizens across the country.
Prof. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, and Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta, Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), gave the assurance in their presentations during the recently-concluded virtual African Internet Governance Forum 2021 (vAFIGF2021).
The three-day annual forum which held in-person and virtually, was organised with the theme: “Advancing Digital Transformation in Africa in the Face of Crisis”, and hosted by the Nigerian government.
The forum was attended by many stakeholders within the African Information and Communication Technology (ICT) ecosystem.
Pantami, who was represented at the forum by a Director at NCC, who doubles as Adviser to the Minister on Technical Matters, Prof. Sahalu Balarabe Junaidu, said the objective of the forum was to harness digital technology and innovation, transform societies and economies, and eradicate poverty for social and economic development in the Continent.
The Minister said, with the challenges thrown up by the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic, the demand for Internet services has increased dramatically. He called on African citizens to access the broadband/internet services to carry out their personal and official task more effectively and effectively.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the increased need to embrace the digital culture. So, as Africans, one of the ways by which we can respond to the challenge thrown by the pandemic is to accelerate our digital transformation,” he said.
Pantami explained that the digital transformation strategy for Africa should be established on key foundational pillars which include an enabling environment, policy regulation, digital infrastructure, digital skills and human capacity, as well as digital innovation, and entrepreneurship.
He said critical sectors such as digital trade and financial services, digital government, digital education, digital health, and digital agriculture, are also underlining pillars of the transformation.
Additionally, he said the drivers of digital transformation include digital content and applications, digital identification, emerging technology, cyber security, privacy and personal data protection, as well as research and development.
Pantami recalled that Internet usage in sub-Saharan Africa is still not encouraging, according to report by the International Finance Corporation ( IFC ) and World Bank.
However, the Minister asserted that Nigeria, with its current over 140 million Internet users, has one of the largest subscriptions in the sub-region.
The Minister said the various policies, including the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (2020-2030), and the Nigerian National Broadband Plan (NNBP) 2020-2025, emplaced to address infrastructure challenges and enhance the country’s migration to a more robust digital economy, will also ensure that more citizens are able to have access to the Internet in the coming years.
He mentioned the recent successful auction of 3.5 gigahertz (GHz) spectrum band for the scheduled deployment of Fifth Generation (5G) networks as another important policy and strategic step taken by the Nigerian government to boost broadband penetration in the country.
Pantami also listed the enforcement and implementation of the National Cyber Security Policy and Strategy 2021, and the review of the Cybercrimes Act of 2015 to build an inclusive Internet governance ecosystem and boost digital cooperation, as well as the ongoing linking of citizens National identification Number (NINs) with the Subscriber Identification Module (SIM) as worthy state actions that will yield great benefits.
Other initiatives cited by the Minister include the ongoing effort to address high Right of Way (RoW) charges, tackling multiple taxation in the ecosystem, and increasing stakeholder collaboration.
Meanwhile, the Director, New Media and Information Security, NCC, Dr. Al-Hassan Haru, who represented Danbatta at the forum, reiterated the Commission’s commitment to ensuring broadband penetration through stimulating continuous roll-out of broadband infrastructure.
He said the Commission is well positioned to drive government policy direction to tackle digital infrastructure deficit in the telecoms sector, as well as to explore necessary options to improve the nation’s digital ecosystem.
“The future is digital, and we should be committed to supporting and collaborating with African countries to maximise opportunities inherent in digital technologies. We should also be ready to avoid the pitfalls by instituting appropriate regulations as we are doing in NCC,” he added.
Other stakeholders at the event included eminent policy experts, leading technology managers from the private sector, representatives of governmental organisations, civil society organisations, non-governmental organisations, the academia, and Internet end-users, who actively participated in the discourses during the three-day forum.
Google has unveiled a new feature that allows Gmail users to change their existing email addresses without losing data or access to services, marking a major shift in the company’s long-standing policy.
Gmail
According to an update on Google’s account help page, the new option enables account holders to replace their current @gmail.com address with a new one while retaining all associated data, including emails, photos, and integrations with services such as Google Drive, Maps, and YouTube.
The guidance, however, was first spotted on the Hindi version of Google’s support page, suggesting that the rollout may begin in India or Hindi-speaking markets before expanding globally.
The English-language support page still carries the older advisory that Gmail addresses “usually cannot be changed.”
Google explained that under the new policy, users who update their Gmail address will automatically keep their original address as an alias.
This means emails sent to the old address will continue to arrive in the inbox, and the original address will remain valid for signing in to Google services.
Previously, users seeking a new Gmail address had to create an entirely new account and manually transfer their data, a process that often disrupted third-party app integrations. The new feature eliminates that inconvenience, ensuring continuity for users.
The company further clarified that while users can reuse their old Gmail address at any time, accounts that change their address will face certain restrictions.
These include a 12-month waiting period before another new Gmail address can be created, and the inability to delete the newly chosen address once it has been set.
Google assured users that all existing data would remain intact after an address update, including stored photos, messages, and emails.
The gradual rollout of the feature indicates that full global adoption is expected in the coming months, a move likely to be welcomed by millions of users who have long requested the ability to update their Gmail identities without starting afresh.
Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has said that Nigeria’s internet usage reached a record 1.24 million terabytes in November 2025.
According to the latest data from the NCC, the figure rose modestly from 1.235 million terabytes in October, reflecting steady growth in digital activity across the country.
Broadband penetration in Nigeria crossed the halfway mark in November 2025, reaching 50.58 per cent, up from 45.61 per cent in January, the telecoms regulator reported.
The figure, however, falls short of the 70 per cent coverage target outlined in the National Broadband Plan 2020–2025, which expires this month.
The country had roughly 109 million broadband subscriptions by November. Growth has been uneven, hindered by infrastructure and regulatory constraints, including frequent fibre-optic vandalism that triggers 30 to 43 network cuts daily, high right-of-way fees, and declining subscriber numbers earlier in the year.
Expansion of mobile networks, particularly 3G and 4G services, alongside limited 5G rollouts in urban centres, affordable smartphones, and competitive data plans, has driven uptake.
Investments in the National Communications Backbone and private-sector initiatives have also improved access, especially in underserved areas.
While Nigeria is gradually improving digital inclusion, achieving the original broadband plan remains challenging due to high infrastructure costs, coverage limitations, and deployment hurdles.
The NCC maintains that continued investment in mobile networks and broadband infrastructure will sustain gradual growth in the sector.
Commenting on the development, some Nigerian analysts attributed the surge to the broader mobile and broadband adoption and the growing appetite for streaming, online learning and other digital services.
According to the analysts, the figures suggest that internet connectivity is no longer a luxury but a necessity for both business and leisure, underscoring the slow but steady expansion of Nigeria’s digital economy.
Bureau of Public Service Reforms (BPSR) has named the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) among the top three Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of the Federal Government with the Best Ranking in Website Performance for 2025.
L-R: Head Special Projects, Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), Salamatu Andu; Executive Commissioner, Technical Services, Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC), Engr. Abaraham Oshadame; Director General Bureau of Public Service Reforms (BPSR), Head Customer Support Service, Galaxy Backbone, Rosemary Ehize; Secretary to the ES. Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board, Tahir Aminu at the BPSR award ceremony for top four MDAs in BPSR Website Performance and Ranking 2025 at the BPSR office on Tuesday, 23rd December, 2025.
This is coming barely three weeks after the telecom regulator was recognized as one of the top five best-performing Federal Government agencies for 2025 by the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) – a testament to the Commission’s consistency in investment in technology for ensuring efficient service delivery.
In the BPSR 2024/2025 scorecard ranking of agencies’ websites, the NCC came second in the ranking, trailing behind Galaxy Backbone Limited, which came first while the Nigeria Export Promotion Council (NEPC) clinched the third position, from a pool of 235 MDAs, whose website were evaluated.
BPSR deployed 14 evaluation criteria in include MDA’s website compliance with .gov.ng domain name, appearance and aesthetics (look and feel) of the website, content, relevance to MDAs mandate/government policy and the website’ structure.
Others include website’s responsiveness (device compatibility), security, load time, usability/ease of navigation, availability/uptime, functionality, interactivity, accessibility and capacity building.
The recognition was announced at the official release of Federal Government 2024/2025 Scorecard Ranking for MDAs’ Website held at the Federal Ministry of Finance Auditorium in Abuja on Monday (December 22, 2025) while the award presentation took place at BPSR’s Office on Tuesday (December 23, 2025).
The award, which is an important index metric of the National e-Government Masterplan for determining the Nigeria e-Government Status, was received by the Commission in recognition of its commitment to maintaining a world-class website that enhances service delivery to the citizens.
Receiving the award on behalf of the Executive Vice Chairman of the NCC, Dr. Aminu Maida, the NCC’s Executive Commissioner, Technical Services, Abraham Oshadami, appreciated the BPSR for the recognition, describing the award as “another encouragement for the Commission to be a better public service institution leveraging digital platforms such as our web presence to enhance public service delivery to our various stakeholders, thereby implementing the Federal Government’s Ease of Doing Business policy direction.”
While presenting the award to the NCC, alongside other two agencies, BPSR’s Director-General, Mr. Dasuki Arabi, commended the top three for their proactive decisions in maintaining world-class websites, which are compliant with the Federal Government’s policy direction in effective and efficient service delivery to the citizens.
According to the DG, the 2024/2025 MDA’s websites’ ranking represents a collective effort of federal public institutions in Nigeria to be transparent, accountable and open in governance, as well as a confirmation to align with global best practices in service delivery to the citizens.
Developed about six years ago, Arabi said as a result of the annual ranking, more public institutions have indicated readiness to embrace reforms, and align with the policy direction of the current administration’s Renewed Hope agenda on improve governance for effective service delivery, as introduced by His Excellency President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
“The ideals of harnessing and deploying technological tools for service delivery has become imperative following the COVID pandemic, and distortions of socio-economic system of nations, culminating in the evolution of competitiveness, cost effectiveness, and agile governance.
“As engine room of governance, it behoves on us in the public service to perform our statutory duties and we must put in place technological innovations and standardized websites to operate services as well as deliver service needs to citizens,” he said.
The Scorecard exercise, he said, is part of the BPSR reform broader function of conducting research on reform implementation efforts and presenting ‘best practice’ models to the entire Public Service, and to among others, improve access to government information, facilitate seamless financial transaction, eliminate corruption and cyber theft, as well as facilitate access to government services.
Speaking on the rigorous nature of the exercise that produced the top three winners, the DG said “in the past few weeks members of the Scorecard Jury drawn from inter-Ministerial Agencies, had worked tirelessly to mill websites of selected MDAs through a rigorous process of enduring criteria for the ranking and the outcome had also passed through a quality assurance mechanism to validate the outcome.”
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