The $10 billion investment expected to come into Nigeria’s Information and Communication Technology (ICT) industry towards building next-generation national broadband infrastructure is being threatened. New Telegraph learnt that despite the frantic efforts to boost broadband penetration in the country, telecoms companies are still facing some challenges, which are impeding investment in broadband. KPMG, the consultants to the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) on broadband development, had, last year, stated that Nigeria would require $2 billion annually over the next five years, beginning from 2014, to build a “robust national broadband network.”
This investment is expected to be sourced locally and through Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). With such investment, industry analysts say telecoms companies would be well positioned to take their idle, but live, fibre optic infrastructure across the country. While 30 per cent broadband penetration has been projected for the next four years, only onethird of the auspicious target has been achieved.
Already, telecoms experts and key stakeholders in the industry, speaking at a broadband investment forum orgainised by Nigeria ICT Reporters’ Association in collaboration with MTN Nigeria and Samsung, have decried the challenges impeding broadband investment in the country.
“Over one terabyte of Internet bandwidth brought about by some international fibre cables is currently Nigeria with only 10 per cent capacity utilisation,” said President, Association of Telecoms Companies of Nigeria, Mr. Lanre Ajayi. He said that both existing and potential investors were not happy and there is a need to drive adoption and boost demand for broadband services.
“Investors are lamenting that there is no demand because efforts to engage in last-mile fibre connectivity has been greeted with many challenges, ranging from slow pace of Right of Way (RoW) approval by government and its agencies, vandalism, multiple taxations and theft of telecoms equipment, among others.
Former President of ATCON, Dr. Emmanuel Ekuwen, said that there was urgent need for Nigeria to deepen ubiquitous broadband penetration to create digital opportunities that can address the myriad of socio-political problems in the country. “Not paying attention to our broadband revolution by addressing all the obstacles to investment inflows would lead us to be locked under digital imperialism. When we have broadband, we are in a better stead to create more jobs and address our unemployment quagmire.
“When people get jobs as a result of opportunity created by broadband, they are able to give back to the society, but if they don’t have anything to give back, they hit back and become nuisance to the society. “So, broadband is to help you minimise crimes, address issues in the nation’s security, education and health sectors and sundry sectors,” Ekuwem, who was the chairman at the forum had said.
A top official of Nigeria Computer Society, Mr. Jide Awe, said the society was concerned about the ICT development, tasking the media on the need to increase awareness through their reportage on the challenges confronting broadband penetration in the country.
Secretary General of the Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria, Mr. Gbolahan Awonuga, said the 30 per cent broadband penetration being targeted by the country was far from being achieved in the next two years due to the various challenges confronting the operators. “We have had cases where state authorities engaged in careless closure of cell sites. One was shut down in Anambra due to the issue around multiple taxation,” he said, stressing that the tax laws in Nigeria should be relaxed.
