30m Nigerians now have access to broadband – NCC

Not fewer than 30million Nigerians now have access to broadband services across the country, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) said on Tuesday. The NCC’s Executive Vice Chairman, Prof Umar Garuba Danbatta disclosed this at the sideline of the ongoing 3rd Steering Committee meeting of International Telecommunications Union (ITU) Centres of Excellence Africa Network taking place […]

Not fewer than 30million Nigerians now have access to broadband services across the country, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) said on Tuesday.

The NCC’s Executive Vice Chairman, Prof Umar Garuba Danbatta disclosed this at the sideline of the ongoing 3rd Steering Committee meeting of International Telecommunications Union (ITU) Centres of Excellence Africa Network taking place in Abuja.

Prof Danbatta said Nigeria had crossed 20% broadband penetration and the country was already on its way to achieving its 30% penetration by 2018.

Because of this achievement, he said, Nigeria would soon be standing side by side with most advanced economies of the world in terms of broadband services.

He also claimed Nigeria’s feat in broadband may catapult it out of the current recession.

Earlier in his address to the participants, Prof Danbatta said the role of ICT as a growth enabler is no longer debatable.

"Evidence abound in the developed economies that ICT is the biggest driver of economic growth in the 21st century. I am a strong believer that African countries can harness the massive opportunities of the digital era by consciously investing not only in ICT infrastructure but in developing the requisite knowledge and skills through capacity building", he said.

The Minister of Communications Adebayo Shittu had earlier in welcome address said Nigeria is an investment haven in ICT.