Benjamin Babine, Abuja
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) under the leadership of its Executive Vice Chairman (EVC), Prof. Umar Danbatta, has been recognised at this year’s edition of the Nigeria Tech Innovation and Telecoms Awards (NTITA) for advancing the frontiers of broadband development.
NTITA which is regarded by many as the Oscars of Nigeria’s telecoms industry, with the Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON) in Abuja, awarded NCC and other industry stakeholders, including the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Pantami.
The EVC was awarded the “Broadband Oxygenator of the Year” for his role and commitment to the development of broadband infrastructure to support the country’s digital economy drive. NCC, as a corporate organisation received the “Outstanding Contribution to Driving Greater Broadband Penetration Award of the Year.”
Through the articulation of a Strategic Vision Plan (SVP) for the fiscal years 2015-2020, which symbolises the focused leadership Danbatta brought on board as the chief telecoms regulator in the country, broadband penetration increased from 6 percent in 2015 to 45.43 in September, 2020.
Also, basic active internet subscription grew from 90 million to 143.7 million while active voice subscription increased from 151 million to 205.25 percent during the same period with teledensity also reaching 107.53 percent as at end of September, 2020.
The last five years have seen the number of licensed Infrastructure Companies (InfraCo) increasing from two in 2015 to six currently. The InfraCos are to deploy broadband infrastructure, on a wholesale basis in the 774 Local Government Areas in Nigeria.
NCC and Danbatta’s recognitions at the NTITA 2020 were also hinged on the increase in the contribution of the telecom sector the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) from 8.5 percent in 2015 to 14.30 percent as of the second quarter of 2020, translating to N2.272 trillion in financial value.
In the last five years, under Danbatta leadership, telecoms investment grew from around $38 billion to over $70 billion currently with appreciable remittances in spectrum fees and operating surplus by the NCC into the Federal Government Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF).
Speaking on the significance of the NTITA, President of ATCON, Olusola Teniola, said: “Our thinking is that if we decide to ignore the contribution that our sector has made to the development of Nigeria by not recognizing the actors that made it possible, what we are saying invariably is that we are unappreciative of their concerted efforts in changing the story of our industry.”
He hoped that the awards would spur the Nigerian government to pay more attention to the sector and that state governments would continue to support the efforts of the industry to transform their various states into digital cciti
