The Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON) has said it will be embarking on a strategic mobilisation of its members and all stakeholders in the ICT industry to achieve the 70% target set in the Nigeria National Broadband Plan (NNBP 2020-2025).
To this end, the body of telecommunications companies says all stakeholders, including all service providers, ICT regulators, the Central Bank of Nigeria, and all state governors will be converging on Abuja next week to address issues inhibiting the deployment of broadband in Nigeria.
Aside from the issue of forex limiting the operators’ capacity to import the equipment needed for broadband deployment, the high cost of Right of Ways permits by state governments is also seen as an obstacle to achieving the country’s broadband target.
What ATCON is saying
- The President of ATCON, Engr. Ikechukwu Nnamani in a statement, said: “It is imperative for the government and players in the telecoms & ICT ecosystem to leverage on various sub-groups under the membership of ATCON to ensure and guarantee that the new Nigerian National Broadband Plan 2020-2025 is adequately positioned to deliver its ultimate purposes for the generality of Nigerians in a quicker and strategic manner.”
- “The strategic objectives of this very important meeting are to complement the various strategic activities already embarked upon by the Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy and all the agencies under the Ministry to achieve the set target of Broadband penetration in Nigeria with great speed. To leverage the wide spectrum of ATCON’s sub-groups for effective participation in the new Nigerian National Broadband Plan 2020-2025 by giving them the opportunity to access the plan and suggest various ways to speed up the realization of the established target by the government and also serve as a veritable platform to galvanize the needed input that reflects the thinking of the telecom and ICT sector,” he added.
According to the ATCON President, the meeting also offers an opportunity to review the relevance of the Nigerian policy environment vis-a-vis the telecom operating environment.
