The number of high-speed Internet towers in the country grew significantly in the past five years as number of Internet subscriptions continue to rise in the country.
The Executive Vice Chairman, Nigerians Communications Commissions says the third generation (3G) and fourth generation (4G) base transceiver stations deployment in Nigeria has increased by 78 per cent since 2007.
While briefing for the new Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy, Festus Daudu, on the operations of the commission on Wednesday, Danbatta said the tower increased from 30,000 to 53,460.
He added that Fibre Optic Transmission cables expanded from 47,000 kilometres to 54,725km in the last five years, resulting in improved broadband/telecoms service delivery to Nigerians.
The EVC also shared the commission’s enabling laws, mandates, structure, implementation approach of its mandates and methodology, key focus and targets, scorecards, the new soon-to-be-unveiled Strategic Management Vision (SVP) with the PM.
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According to Danbatta, the effective regulatory regime emplaced by the leadership of the commission has resulted in increased deployment of infrastructure by telecoms operators, which in turn, helped to improve broadband penetration and other related service delivery in the telecoms industry.
“The BTS, fibre optic cables and other related infrastructure are central to the provision of improved service experience for Nigerians by their respective telecoms service providers,” he said.
The EVC added that the licensed Infrastructure Companies (InfraCos) were also expected to add 38,296km to optic fibre cables when they commence operations fully.
According to the Danbatta, as of November, 2020, active telephony subscribers stood at 208 million with teledensity standing at 108.92 per cent while active Internet subscriptions were 154.9 million and a broadband penetration of 45.07 per cent, among others.
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The EVC stated that the number of subscriptions to Do-Not-Disturb (DND) service had hit over 30 million as the service empowered Nigerians to protect themselves from the menace of unsolicited text messages.
In his response, the PM commended the leadership of the commission, acknowledging the upward growth attributed to the effective regulatory regime, the role of NCC in the digital transformation of Nigerian as well as the contribution of the sector to the country’s Gross Domestic (GDP).
“I want to thank NCC for its contribution to the Nigerian economy so far. I am not exaggerating about the achievements of NCC, in terms of contribution to GDP and how NCC’s effective regulatory role has been helping the economy in so many ways,” Daudu said.
