Minister Appeals to Operators to Improve Service Quality

Mrs. Omobola Johnson, minister of Communications Technology, has called on service providers in the country to improve on the quality of their services.

The minister made the call on yesterday in Abuja at the opening auction of 30 MHz Slot of the 2.3 GHz Spectrum band.

Represented by Dr. Tunji Olaopa, permanent secretary in the ministry,  the minister also advised the operators to seek more innovative and creative ways to deploy infrastructure and provide quality services to the citizenry.

Johnson said, “On our part as a ministry, we shall not relent in our effort to remove all obstacles and barriers to speedy investment and deployment of services, especially in the area of broadband and similar services.

“At this stage of our development, high quality services are in very high demand.

“We cannot move fast in the speed direction of broadband with poor quality of services. We hope that the winner of this auction will make quality service a priority.”

She stressed the determination of the Federal Government to accelerate the level of Internet penetration in the country.

According to her, the sensitisation programme under the National Broadband Roadmap was established with the aim to mobilise the industry, the government and the general public on the benefit of broadband.

Johnson said this was to create awareness and reception for the various broadband initiatives in the Broadband Roadmap.

She explained that government had established critical collaborations and signed agreements at the various levels with telecom operators to promote the deployment of broadband.

Johnson said, “We are indeed encouraged by empirical statistics that broadband can transform lives and the nation as it is already doing in countries where they are optimally deployed.

“We will continue to make reference to the often quoted statistics of a 10 per cent increase in broadband penetration delivering a 1.3 per cent increase in GDP.

“Those in simple explanation mean that broadband can increase business productivity, lead to creation of new businesses and jobs, save lives, and deliver much needed skills in a developing nation.

“Broadband can provide security, improve social engagement, and enrich governance.”