By Chinenye Anuforo, [email protected]
With every aspect of life going digital and global economies leveraging on information and communications technology (ICT) to advance economic development, the need to embrace ICT cannot be over emphasised. As a result, stakeholders in Nigeria’s telecoms sector have called on Nigerians to participate fully in the ICT/telecoms sector for efficiency.
Looking at key variables in the ICT sector that will shape 2022, industry stakeholders are of the view that the planned 5G technology rollout in 2022, the planned acquisition of MainOne by Equinix, the launch of Africa Data Centre, as well as the berthing of several subsea cables on the shores of Nigeria and the operation of cloud computing services by data centre operators will act as catalysts in driving Nigeria’s digital economy.
They also urged the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to make the deployment of 5G technology a reality as early as possible in the country.
According to stakeholders, the recent emergence of MTN Nigeria and Mafab Communications Limited, as winners of the keenly contested 3.5GHz spectrum auction for 5G deployment in the country, coupled with the $574.2 million that the Federal Government realised from the auction, Nigeria is set to achieve faster digital transformation in 2022.
The stakeholders were also of the view that the launch of a 10 megawatt data centre facility in Nigeria by the Africa Data Centre (ADC), which held in Lagos in December 2021, would further diversify Nigeria’s economy and enhance its digital transformation agenda in 2022.
The Nigerian coordinator of Alliance for Affordable Internet (A4AI), Olusola Teniola, said, in 2022, the main focus should be affordable deployment and delivery of broadband Internet to the masses, especially covering those that are offline.
Teniola noted that the recent auctioning of 5G-related spectrum was pivotal to Internet accessibility, which makes it meaningful and relevant to consumers across varying use cases that address latency-sensitive applications.
He stated that the implementation of the New National Broadband Plan (2020 to 2025) is focused on deepening 4G technology and would provide a basis for 5G migration, all in the face of increased adoption of NIN as a digital ID.
Teniola, former president of the Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON), posited that focus on the supply side of the digital economy equation by the private sector, ensuring that big data, analytics and digital infrastructure are primed for scale and adoption in 2022 was critical.
He said an emphasis on Digital Financial Services (DFS) will provide the telcos with an avenue for possible shareholder value with the introduction of AI/ML and appropriate infrastructure to close the digital divide.
Teniola urged the Federal Government to improve regulation by introducing innovative policies that lower the cost of doing business and remove the many barriers to affordability by eliminating the multiplicity of taxes that stifles growth and investments.
“Another priority for the Federal Government is the investment in training, retooling and re-skilling a workforce that is prepared for the technological changes that 5G heralds. Education curricula must be adapted to reflect the changes in STEM or STEAM, and stronger linkages between universities and industries must be developed to prepare Nigeria as a destination of R&D that feeds into a 4th Industrial Revolution (4IR) era,” he said.
Chairman, Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), Gbenga Adebayo, told Daily Sun that the 3.5GHz spectrum auction would open vistas of opportunities for 5G rollout and also enhance digital transformation across the country in several ways in 2022. According to him, “The 3.5GHz spectrum will pave way for speedy deployment of 5G network in 2022, and once we have systems and applications running on the spectrum at high speed data, there will be faster integration of systems and there will be increased access with machine-to-machine connection that will also drive financial inclusion. What we used to download in minutes before will now be in milliseconds and there will be improved customer experience to speed, access and connectivity. It will enhance e-commerce, e-health and e-government, among others, with great improvement on national security.”
Giving credence to the efficacy of the launch of Africa Data Centre in Lagos in December last year, the Federal Government and the Lagos State government said the launch of the 10 megawatt facility in Nigeria would further diversify Nigeria’s economy and enhance digital transformation in 2022.
Executive vice-chairman, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta, said the launch would help to further diversify the Nigerian economy.
On his part, the chairman of Mobile Software Solution, Nigeria, Chris Uwaje, who commended the Danbatta-led NCC for the 5G auction, pointed out that the effort would provide the momentum for the acceleration of digital transformation, “provided there is a shift in implementation strategy from tech-consumerism to tech-innovation and creativity.”
Uwaje said, with the advent of 5G, a comprehensive (converged and inclusive) cooperative regulatory system between telecoms and information technology ecosystem services should be considered, since the digital transformation road map has become a converged landscape where data and software services have taken the driver’s seat.
According to him, with IoT, AI, robotics, blockchain and quantum computing, the telecoms game has turned from physical infrastructure to digital content platforms.
As momentum gathers around 5G deployment in the country, there should be a clearly defined policy and regulatory push towards asymmetric superintendence in favour of the smaller network operators.
This was the submission of a telecoms lawyer, Ayoola Oke, who observed that there was a void in-between the market’s power network operators and the small network operators. He said the medium-level network operator space was virtually empty, stressing that the space should be populated with operators who would keep the significant market power operators on their toes, with a readiness to take advantage of emerging technology and innovative cost-reducing network solutions.
Oke, a principal partner at Ayoola Babatunde Oke & Co and former special adviser to the former executive vice-chairman of the NCC, Dr. Ernest Ndukwe, said the small operators need to be encouraged to grow into this space.
According to him, regulatory imperatives that can encourage this space include spectrum re-farming to free up spectrum. He said dominant operators were hugging too much spectrum, which they should not be allowed to warehouse. Oke also noted there was a need for reduction in cost and requirements for acquiring adjunct network operating licenses.
The telecoms lawyer said prompt attention should be given to complaints against anti-competitive behaviour from dominant operators, adding, “Policy implementation in favour of increased local content in telecommunications should be frontal.”
Corroborating him, the executive director, business development, Broadbased Communications Limited, Chidi Ibisi, said Nigerians must be encouraged to participate fully in the ICT/telecoms sector in Nigeria.
Ibisi said, to achieve this and deepen broadband deployment in the country, government should ensure the provision of low-interest long-term loans, including equity participation similar to the financing incentive administered by the Nigerian Content Development Board for the oil and gas sector.
He advocated a liaison with state governments for the harmonisation of right of way charges at N145 per metre. According to him, thee should be implementation and enforcement of compensation by state and Federal Government road contractors for destruction of fiber cables during road construction.
To Ibisi, who said the reduction of multiple taxation was sacrosanct, if indigenous operators must participate well in the industry, elimination of harassment by street boys during installation of fiber optic cables should be a priority.
For the founder, Jidaw Systems, Jide Awe, with 5G at hand and NNBP gaining attention, Nigeria should prepare and participate in global disruptions.
He urged the Federal Government to ensure it develops real capacity and capabilities in established and emerging technologies, with a strategic focus on solving developmental challenges, social, economic and environmental; being proactive and responding to disruption from global events such as the COVID pandemic and geopolitical outcomes.
Awe said the Federal Government should prioritise youth innovation to realize their potential through disruptive skills to meet demands and expectations, drive trends and reduce digital dependence on the West, Asia and big tech companies. He advocated digital inclusion, especially in education, health, agriculture and other critical areas.
The Jidaw Systems boss argued that strategy and policy development that were inclusive and stakeholder-driven would strengthen the National System of Innovation.
He said there was also a need for the domestication and implementation of the African Union’s Science, Technology and Innovation Strategy for Africa 2024 (STISA-2024). Awe also commended the award of slots for the 5G spectrum in the auction conducted by the NCC, which he described as another major regulatory development. He, however, asked how sufficient the stakeholder involvement was in determining criteria for bidding and other critical issues.
“The licence is just the first step. It is one thing to fight for the licence. It is also critical to hold companies that won the bids accountable. They must deliver through their business cases to enable us derive the benefits of 5G,” he added.