From Adanna Nnamani, Abuja
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has said that Google’s subsea cable, Equiano, will be arriving Nigeria before the end of April.
NCC Executive Vice Chairman, Umar Danbatta disclosed this when a delegation from Google Global Services Nigeria paid a courtesy visit to the Commission’s Head Office in Abuja recently.
The Equiano cable system is the third private international cable owned by Google and the 14th subsea cable invested by Google. Equiano connects Portugal and South Africa, running along the West Coast of Africa, with branching units along the way that can be used to extend connectivity to more African countries.
In a statement on Thursday, NCC Spokesperson, Dr Ikechukwu Adinde, said the two parties met to deliberate on viable collaborative interventions to propel digital transformation across the country and Africa.
Adinde quoted the EVC saying that he was optimistic that Google’s investment in Equiano, which is expected to arrive in Nigeria by end of April 2022, will be more impactful in driving the country’s broadband Plan (NNBP), 2020-2025, aimed at boosting broadband penetration to 70 percent by 2025.
Danbatta, who was represented by Ubale Maska, Executive Commissioner, Technical Services (ECTS), said the commission looked forward to making the initiatives of both parties more impactful by enhancing cooperation between the NCC and Google Nigeria for quantifiable and remarkable impact.