The value of investments in the Nigerian telecom sector between 2001 and 2017 has surged to $70 billion, the Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta, has said.
Danbatta, who spoke at the Nigeria’ Day at the ITU Telecom World 2017, in Busan, South Korea, said the new figure was a dramatic jump from a mere $50m investments in 2001 when the digital Mobile Licences were issued.
He told the gathering that the majority of the investments are Foreign Direct which signifies the huge confidence the international communities have in Nigeria.
The NCC scribe, however, noted that despite the huge success recorded in the industry, “We still need to deepen investments to make broadband pervasive in the country.”
According to him, currently the broadband penetration in the country is at 22 percent even as the Commission targets to achieve 30 percent by 2018 in consistent with the National Broadband Plan.
He assured the potential investors that Nigeria is ready for any investors who is willing to participate in all the segment of communications technology.
“NCC as a foremost regulator has put in place measures and guidelines to licence wholesale broadband service providers consistent with the Open Access Model for broadband deployment,” he said.
