FG Moves To Unbundle ICT Infrastructure

The federal government has disclosed that it is  drafting a bill to unbundle the ICT infrastructure so as to enable it contribute more to the national economy. The bill is aimed at increasing private participation in the ICT industry.

The minister of communications, Mr Adebayo Shittu, who disclosed this in Lagos at the 2016 Nigeria Telecom Awards, said that apart from the revenue accruing from the sector, ICT could compete favourably with the oil and gas sector in terms of job and wealth creation for the country.

The bill would ensure that there is the need for convergence of regulations with the objective of strengthening existing enabling laws to achieve effective enforcement of ICT policies and to ensure that there is a one-stop-shop platform.

He believes this would reduce the number of enforcement actions, improve quality of service and customer satisfaction, eliminate multiple taxations, and increase foreign direct investments (FDIs).

He said that going forward, government’s immediate priorities are accelerating rollout of broadband infrastructure, increasing the online presence of Nigerian companies and organisations, improving ICT ecosystem, implementating and enforcing the e-Government Masterplan, and sharing government infrastructure to ensure cost effectiveness of ICT in government.

He added that government would also ensure quality and value-driven services in government as well as refocus and strengthen agencies and parastatals under the supervision of the ministry of communications.

Shittu, who noted that the Nigerian telecoms industry was now valued at over $38 billion in investment profile, said that there was the need for more hard work to attract more FDIs.

“I have been told that the SMEs can generate 35 million jobs in a few months using ICT tools. Government is prepared to explore this window as well as intensify its drive to diversifying the Nigerian economy through ICT.”

“There is no gainsaying that ICT can turn around the fortunes of the country within a few years, especially now that oil can no longer sustain Nigeria’s economy,” he stated.

He said that the digital revolution was well underway and it could, and must be harnessed to create a development revolution.

“We can do this together through stronger partnerships and enhanced cooperation with all stakeholders to fully integrate and leverage ICTs and broadband for sustainable development of the country.”

“It is clear that with greater cooperation by all stakeholders, including the academia, we will be able to secure our cyberspace and thus move the ICT industry forward,” he said.

On his part, the executive vice chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Professor Umar Danbatta, said that telecommunications has become one of the key sources of improving the gross domestic product (GDP) of the African economy.

Currently, telecoms and ICT contribute up to 10 per cent of Nigeria’s GDP. The recent report of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) put the contributions of the telecoms sector to the GDP at N1.4 trillion in the first quarter of 2016.

According to him, there was a positive indication that more investments, more deployments and more economic activities around the sector would continue to impact positively in the sector.

The broadband commission while emphasising the importance of broadband for future economic development of every nation referred to the World Bank research that indicates that “for high-income countries, a 10-percentage-point rise in broadband penetration adds a 1.21-percentage point rise in economic growth – or an added 1.38 percentage points for low- and middle-income countries,” he said.