WTISD 2026: NACAN debuts, tackles broadband affordability and policy reforms for Nigerian SMEs - ITREALMS

ITREALMS ... making leadership SENSE with digital news!

Marking the 2026 ITU World Telecommunication and Information Society Day (WTISD), a new non-profit advocacy initiative, the National Affordable Connectivity Advocacy Network (NACAN), has officially debuted to bridge the critical digital access gap confronting small and medium-sized enterprises across Nigeria, reports ITREALMS.

Aligning with the global WTISD theme, “Digital lifelines: Strengthening resilience in a connected world,” NACAN enters the tech ecosystem with a clear mandate to lower the high entry barriers of broadband costs, champion key regulatory adjustments, and empower small businesses with functional digital capacity building.

DBI Insight: Broadband expansion remains critical to digital growth - ITREALMS

DigitalSENSEBusinessIntelligence@ITREALMS ... making leadership SENSE with digital news!

Sustained investment in broadband infrastructure will be essential to supporting Nigeria’s digital transformation, particularly in underserved and rural communities.

DBI findings indicate that connectivity remains the backbone of digital services, influencing access, inclusion, and economic participation.

— Source: DBI Report (2026)

NCC’s Maida rallies stakeholders on broadband investments, infrastructure protection - ITREALMS

ITREALMS ... making leadership SENSE with digital news!

The Executive Vice Chairman (EVC) of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Dr. Aminu Maida, has urged national and sub-national stakeholders to align policies and actions that promote broadband investment and safeguard Nigeria’s critical digital infrastructure, warning that “the cost of inaction is too high for the nation’s future.”

Dr. Maida made the call while delivering his remarks at the Business Roundtable on Improving Investments in Broadband Connectivity and Safeguarding Critical National Infrastructure, held at the NCC Digital Economy Complex, Mbora, on October 8, 2025, with the theme: “Right of Way and Protection of Broadband Infrastructure – The Road to Success in Broadband Investment and Connectivity.”

UN Summit of the Future: Broadband Commission demands enhanced global digital cooperation - ITREALMS

ITREALMS ... making leadership SENSE with digital news!

​​​The B​​roadband Commission​ for Sustainable Development at its Fall Meeting has urged governments, industry, academia and civil society to collaborate to support the implementation of the forthcoming UN Global Digital Compact.

Taking place in New York just days before the UN's Summit of the Future, the Fall Meeting of the Commission underscored the importance of global initiatives to set a course towards a resilient, safe, and inclusive digital future. Both the Compact and the Pact for the Future are expected to be agreed at the upcoming UN Summit.

Anambra implements zero right of way for broadband says CFA - ITREALMS

ITREALMS ... making leadership SENSE with digital news!

Professor Charles Soludo’s Government of Anambra State has started the implementation of zero charges on Right-of-Way per linear meter.

By implication, Anambra prides itself as the first State in South-East Nigeria to implement the waiver of the per linear meter Right of Way (RoW) charges as opposed to the N145 per linear metre recommended by the National Economic Council in 2020.

Danbatta @GITEX Africa, woos investors on Nigeria’s broadband future - ITREALMS

ITREALMS ... making leadership SENSE with digital news!

The Executive Vice Chairman (EVC) of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Prof. Umar Danbatta, has invited international telecom companies and potential investors to take advantage of the opportunities presented by Nigeria’s population of over 200 million people to invest in its telecom sector, especially in infrastructure provisioning for broadband.

Director, Public Affairs at NCC Mr. Reuben Muoka in a press statement available to ITREALMS quoted Danbatta, speaking at the inaugural edition of the Gulf Information Technology Exhibition (GITEX) 2023, which ended in Marrakesh, Morocco recently, stressing that Nigeria presents a stable political and economic conditions.

NCC boss receives APPON award, assures of broadband support for e-procurement - ITREALMS

ITREALMS ... making leadership SENSE with digital news!

The Association of Public Procurement Practitioners of Nigeria (APPON) has conferred the Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Prof. Umar Danbatta, with the “Excellent Service Delivery and Accountability Award,” reports ITREALMS.

The award, ITREALMS gathered, was in recognition of Danbatta’s outstanding performance and contribution to the canons of the public procurement profession in Nigeria by ensuring that the NCC complies strictly with the provisions of the Public Procurement Act (PPA) 2007.

Governors assemble for broadband awareness forum - ITREALMS

ITREALMS ... making leadership SENSE with digital news!

All Nigeria State Governors are set to discuss how to empower the citizens with latest telecoms technologies as they partake in the maiden edition of Broadband Technical Awareness Forum for Governors (BTAF), put together by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and slated for Thursday in Abuja.

According to a press statement available to ITREALMS by the Director, Public Affairs at NCC, Mr. Reuben Muoka, the programme, which takes place at the Congress Hall of the Transcorp Hilton, Hotel in Abuja on October 20, 2022, and themed: “State Broadband Coordinating Councils: Potentials and Possibilities”, will appraise the Nigerian National Broadband Plan (NNBP) 2020-2025, which targets 70 per cent broadband penetration and to cover 90 per cent of the population.

Danbatta: SVP 2021-2025 is catalyst for 5G, broadband penetration - ITREALMS

ITREALMS ... making leadership SENSE with digital news!

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has said its Strategic Vision Implementation Plan (SVP) 2021 -2025 unveiled on September 7, 2021 was meant to speed up broadband penetration, 5G deployment and rapid development of telecom infrastructure in Nigeria, reports ITREALMS.

Professor Umar Danbatta, Executive Vice-Chairman/CEO, Nigerian Communications Commissions (NCC) said at the 2022 Annual Conference of the Guild of Corporate Online Publishers (GOCOP) in Lagos that the SVP 2021-2025 Plan has five major items.

NCC promises accessible broadband to all Nigerians - ITREALMS

ITREALMS ... making leadership SENSE with digital news!

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has committed to accelerate deployment of robust broadband infrastructure that would be accessible to all Nigerians, reports ITREALMS.

This, NCC sources told ITREALMS, is to enhance their access to the required resources to carry out seamless digital financial services, irrespective of their locations and circumstances.

FG goes for new 5-Year National Broadband Plan - ITREALMS

ITREALMS:

The Federal Government (FG) has proclaimed a new five-year National Broadband Plan (NBP) with a 25-man committee inaugurated, reports ITREALMS.

A press statement to this effect made available to ITREALMS by the Director, Public Affairs at the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Dr. Henry Nkemadu, quoted Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Ali Pantami as saying that the need to boost broadband penetration from its present coverage of 37.8 per cent to over 70 per cent in the next five years is the pedestal for the new National Broadband Plan (2020-2025).

Also, the Minister said, pervasive broadband penetration will certainly make Nigeria a truly digital economy. He spoke Monday at the inauguration of a 25 member committee in Abuja.

The new NBP 2020 -2025 is sequel to the first NBP 2013 – 2018. The new NBP Committee has Ms. Funke Opeke, Managing Director/CEO of Main One Cable Company Limited, as Chairperson with Dr. Bashir Gwandu as Co-Chairman. Engr.Ubale Maska, the Executive Commissioner, Technical Services, NCC as the Secretary to the Committee, he will be supported by four staff of the Ministry in the secretariat.

The Committee is to develop a new National Broadband Plan that will be the guiding template for the development of this very important area of telecommunications.

The Committee is to take a critical look at where we are after painstaking review of the 2013-2018 phase and the status of penetration now. The members are enjoined to also examine the challenges with a view to proffering solutions thereto. They should also look at the position of growing and emerging technologies among others.

The new NBP has the collaboration and support of the United Kingdom (UK) Government.

The inauguration of this new Committee is a follow up to the launch of the National Policy for Digital Economy and Strategy by President Muhammadu Buhari, in November 2019.

The Policy has eight pillars among which are Developmental Regulation, Digital Literacy and Skills, Solid Infrastructure, Service Infrastructure, Digital Services Development and Production, Digital Society Emerging Technologies and Indigenous Content Development.

The Minister told the Committee members to lay emphasis on the third pillar of the National Policy which accommodates broadband and data centre, key components for economic growth, and promotion of digital economy.

The Committee’s work, he explained will address significantly one of the eight pillars and the remaining seven will also run as one of this all important pillar.

“The work of this Committee will go a very long way in supporting the national digital economic policy and strategy for the Federal Government because digital economy is strategically dominating the world economy today.”

According to Pantami, members of the Committee were selected based on their competence, integrity and professionalism. “In all these, Nigeria comes first.”

Ms. Opeke who responded on behalf of the committee thanked the Minister for the opportunity to serve and said the target of the committee is to achieve at least 65-70% broadband penetration across Nigeria in the next five years, adding that the objective is technology neutrality for the right purpose. “ the Minister has set the goal and I am sure the NCC is in agreement,” Ms. Opeke added, saying “ we will look at the work of the last Committee and what was done, the prospects, the challenges that are still there in order to come up with a plan to achieve the set objectives.”

‘‘I believe the objective is achievable with sincerity of purpose and with hard work for these are critical services and infrastructure that we need to bring to all Nigerians and we’re optimistic that we can accomplish that goal. There is work to be done on fixed infrastructure but the reality is mobile technologies are also progressing quite fast to deliver very capable services to people. ‘‘We see what is going on with 5G all over the world, so we will address both at the Committee but I believe our objective is not to favour one technology over another but to figure out how we can get those critical services to many more Nigerians. So, we’ll be a mix of technologies but the objective is not to favour one technology over another or to be prescriptive but the right technology for the right purpose, the most competitive technology that enables us deliver services to all Nigerians,’’ Opeke said.

Earlier in his goodwill message, the Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta said Broadband Infrastructure remains one of the top priority of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) to ensure people around the world have access to equitable and affordable broadband, wherever they are and whatever the circumstances they are in. With adequate broadband infrastructure in place, Danbatta assured that everything else will fall into place. ‘‘The ability to deliver healthcare, best quality education even to generations unborn, ability to streamline transportation, meet up with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the ability to transform the economy into a digital one.’’ He pledged the commitment of the Board and Management of NCC, especially in the area of driving the infrastructure that will ensure that critical mass of ICT adoption in use will in time increase the level of broadband penetration in the country.

Besides, Ms. Opeke, Gwandu and Maska, the 25-member Committee also has representatives from the academia, NCC, Galaxy Backbone, MTN , Google, Internet Exchange Point of Nigeria (IXPN), Defence Space Administration, National Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Nigerian Communications Satellite Ltd (NIGCOMSAT), Association of Telecom Companies of Nigeria (ATCON), Nigeria Computer Society (NCS), GSM Association among others.

Remmy Nweke/DoP

*JOIN our alert's group | Share stories with us | Advert placement: WhatsApp | SMS: +2348033592762 *Twitter: @ITREALMS *Email: itrealms.dsa@gmail.com*

Broadband challenges top NITRA Forum, as NCC, ALTON Lineup - ITREALMS

ITREALMS:

The Nigeria Information Technology Reporters’ Association (NITRA) Quarterly Forum has concluded plans to host the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and Association Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) to its Quarterly Forum with focus on broadband challenges, reports ITREALMS.

The forum, ITREALMS gathered, has been slated for Friday, December 14, 2018, at the CitiHeight Hotel, Opebi Link, Ikeja, Lagos.

NITRA, under the supervision of the Nigerian Union of Journalists, is an umbrella body for journalists reporting information and communications technology in Nigeria.

In collaboration with the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and the Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), NITRA promises to address the challenges of broadband, especially with last mile connectivity, at this fourth quarter forum.

The Executive Vice Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta is the keynote speaker at the event expected to draw the largest gathering of ICT industry players under one roof.

Themed: “Achieving Last Mile Connectivity Through Affordable Broadband,” the forum will not only highlight the opportunities and challenges of deploying affordable broadband in Nigeria but will look at the strategies being adopted by the NCC to achieve this.

Experts argue that in order to address Nigeria’s last mile connectivity, it’s important that the Government creates incentives that would encourage telcos to invest in connectivity in rural areas and other less profitable regions.

Achieving last mile connectivity in Nigeria, therefore, requires a concerted effort among Government, Civil Society Organizations, Policy makers, mobile operators, service providers, academia etc. It also requires a combination of solutions ranging from policies to technologies, transparency to regulations etc.

Recall that the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) had in 2016, rolled out an 8-point agenda aimed at broadband access and penetration. Through the agenda, the NCC hopes to promote deployment of universally available, fast and reliable network infrastructure that will stimulate seamless broadband penetration to drive technology innovation and overall productivity of Nigeria’s economy.

In the last two years, NITRA has through the Quarterly forum engaged ICT stakeholders to brainstorm on various topical issues affecting the ICT industry in Nigeria.

Uj. N. Dominic/GEE

*JOIN our alert's group | Share stories with us | Advert placement: WhatsApp | SMS: +2348033592762 *Twitter: @ITREALMS *Email: itrealms.dsa@gmail.com*

Broadband: NCC outlines benefits of cost-based pricing, data services study

ITREALMS:

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has outlined some benefits of thorough study to determine the cost based pricing for retail broadband and data services in Nigeria, reports ITRealms.

According to the Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta, the outcome of the report to be carried out by KPMG would facilitate setting of guidelines for the regulation of the pricing of retail broadband and data services in Nigeria and specifically determine Price cap and floor where necessary.

“To develop a regulatory pricing model based on the peculiarity of the Nigerian broadband and data services market coupled with international best practices; and design the framework for collation of data that will be used for the determination; as well as to determine the appropriate cost modeling technique and methodology to be adopted,” he said.

In addition, he underscored the fact that the study would assist in appropriating pricing regulatory measures to be adopted eventually; the need for ex-ante and ex-post regulation with respect to pricing in the retail broadband and data market segments.

It is expected, he said, that the study would enable the development of a suitable definition of big and new entrant and or small operators, if necessary; just as it would avail the  conduct of a general assessment of the retail broadband cum data market segment with a view of determining the appropriate methodology to be adopted; and to design a cost model that is suitable for determining retail prices for broadband and data services taking into cognizance the macro-economic, technology and technical relevant factors.

Further, he disclosed that the study would result in the determination of a uniform pricing structure within the broadband and data segment; ensuring effective competition in the broadband and data market segment; guaranteeing affordability and accessibility of broadband and data services in Nigeria.

Facilitating inflow, development and growth of the broadband market segment; and above, “the stimulation of further economic growth considering the catalytic role broadband services plays.”

Nonye Dom/GEE

ITREALMS ... everything news digitally!

Telia picks Nokia cloud to enhance mobile broadband

ITREALMS:

Telia company has chosen Nokia's cloud packet core solution to profitably deliver enhanced mobile broadband, reports ITREALMS.

The company also said that the choice would provide the massively scalable platform required as part of Telia's Next Generation Core.

With, ITREALMS reports that Nokia's AirGile cloud-native design enables Telia to benefit from a full cloud architecture, allowing it to streamline engineering and operations to run on a common infrastructure across all six countries in which it operates.

This, ITREALMS reports will contribute to Telia's ambition for competitive operations, lowering the cost of introducing and operating data services, substantially accelerating time-to-market for differentiated services and expanding business productivity.

Nonye Dom/GEE

ITREALMS ... everything news digitally!

Broadband corruption: How Atiku was barred from US

ITREALMS:

The reasons on why the former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar was allegedly barred from entering the United States, has been revealed, ITRealms reports.

Investigations has revealed that his inability to visit the United States in recent years, especially since leaving office 10 years ago, was not unconnected to a purported bribe associated with award of a broadband contract to a US-based enterprise, iGate Incorporated with an indictment of a Louisiana representative William J. Jefferson, who has family ties to the business in 2005.

ITRealms also gathered that Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) had raided Jefferson’s Congressional offices in May 2006, but he was re-elected later that year, but on June 4, 2007, a federal grand jury indicted Jefferson on sixteen charges related to corruption.

In 2009 he was tried in Virginia on corruption charges. On August 5, 2009, he was found guilty of 11 of the 16 corruption counts. Jefferson was sentenced to 13 years on November 13, 2009, the longest sentence ever handed down to a congressman for bribery.

The investigation began in mid-2005, after an investor alleged $400,000 in bribes were paid through a company maintained in the name of Jefferson's spouse and children. The money was traced to a tech company named iGate Incorporated, of Louisville, Kentucky, and in return, it is alleged, Jefferson would help iGate's business. Jefferson was to persuade the U.S. Army to test iGate's broadband two-way technology and other iGate products; use his efforts to influence high-ranking officials in Nigeria, Ghana, and Cameroon; and meet with personnel of the Export-Import Bank of the United States, in order to facilitate potential financing for iGate business deals in those countries.

On 30 July 2005, Jefferson was videotaped by the FBI receiving $100,000 worth of $100 bills in a leather briefcase at the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Arlington, Virginia. Jefferson told an investor, Lori Mody, who was wearing a wire, that he would need to give Nigerian Vice President Atiku Abubakar $500,000 "as a motivating factor" to make sure they obtained contracts for iGate and Mody's company in Nigeria.

ITRealms reports that a few days later, on 3 August 2005, FBI agents raided Jefferson's home in Northeast Washington and, as noted in an 83-page affidavit filed to support a subsequent raid on his Congressional office, "found $90,000 of the cash in the freezer, in $10,000 increments wrapped in aluminum foil and stuffed inside frozen-food containers". Serial numbers found on the currency in the freezer matched serial numbers of funds given by the FBI to their informant.

Further investigations by ITRealms, revealed late on the night of May 20, 2006, FBI agents executed a search warrant at Jefferson's office in the Rayburn House Office Building. The raid led to an irony that one of Democrat Jefferson's staunchest defenders in the turf battles between the FBI and Congress became Dennis Hastert, who was Speaker of the House and a Republican.

As contained in the affidavit used to support these raids, FBI alleged:

• The FBI videotaped Jefferson receiving a stock certificate from Mody for a company set up in Nigeria to promote iGate's technology. Jefferson predicted the deal would generate $200 million annually after five years.
• Jefferson told Mody that he wanted a similar financial stake in the business in Ghana.
• Jefferson sought $10 million in financing from Mody to take over iGate and install "confidants" on the new board. In two payments, Mody wired $89,225 to the ANJ Group LLC, a company controlled by Jefferson's family.
• Jefferson lent $4,800 of the money Mody gave him to an unnamed congressional aide. Another $4,900 was given back to the FBI by one of Jefferson's attorneys.
• The FBI claims it has uncovered "at least seven other schemes in which Jefferson sought things of value in return for his official acts."

ITRealms recalls that Atiku Abubakar, at the weekend, declared his return to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) with anticipated by industry observers that he is likely to run for president in 2019, had insisted that U.S. authorities have nothing against him, noting he had visited Europe regularly without being arrested for onward extradition to the U.S.

Abukakar in a recent chat with TheBoss Newspapers, expressed optimistic that if Nigerians elect him president in 2019, he would be allowed into the United States just like Mr. Buhari and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, both of whom are now being accorded red carpet treatments in the U.S. after becoming leaders of their respective countries, despite every odd of suspicion or linkage to an American congressman Williams Jefferson, who was jailed in 2009 after conviction by the FBI in relation to that case.

Although as at press time, ITRealms reports there is no formal statement from United States or its embassy in Nigeria on the Atiku Abukakar involvement and eventual ban.

Uboshe Uboshe/GEE

ITREALMS ... everything news digitally!

Pix; Atiku Abubakar and William Jefferson

Nigeria still desire broadband capacity - Akinlola

ITREALMS:

The chief executive officer of Ntel, Mr. Ernest Akinlola has said that Nigeria is still very much desirous of broadband capacity, reports ITRealms.

Akinlola made this known at the 2017 Telecoms Executiveand Regulator Forum (TERF) at Oriental Hotel in Lagos, weekend, where he was represented by the Director, Regulatory and External Affairs at ntel, Mr. Osondu Nwokolo.

TERF is organised by the Association of Telecoms Companies of Nigeria (ATCON) and powered by InstinctWave.

He also noted that Nigeria is still in need of broadband capacity anchored on synergy by relevant stakeholders.

In addition, Nwokolo decried the fact that many at times, the decision affecting directly on the telecom sector is taken outside the industry without core industry players participating.

This, he said, does not argue well for the development and growth of the sector, especially in the telecom sector who are supposed to use the supposed infrastructure.

Equally, he said that spectrum trading is a good idea but content to drive it should be looked into as well.

He advised government to always include the Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) and operators who deliver based on requisite OEMs tp the end user.

Further, he canvassed for the OEMs to be part of the beneficiaries of any tax incentive to afford to domestication of their factories in the country, thereby creating jobs for Nigerians and reducing the cost of acquiring such equipment or devices by end users.

Chuks Egbune/GEE

ITREALMS ... everything news digitally!

Broadband forum 2017: Operators hail next-generation technologies

ITREALMS:

The next-generation fiber technologies such as NG-PON2 has been identified as a paradigm shift in the access space and a more certain path towards long-term success, reports ITRealms.

According to the Director, Technology at Verizon, Vincent O’Byrne, this would be explored by the Broadband Forum’s Access Summit, which features operators and manufacturers, as well as industry insight from Light Reading, IHS and the Fiber Broadband Association.

Taking place at Broadband World Forum, at the Messe Berlin, on Tuesday, October 24, the agenda features O’Byrne who will explain how the fiber access space is constantly evolving, with emerging PON technology providing solutions to some of the issues around cost and reliability.

“Technologies such as NG-PON2 present exciting new opportunities for vendors, such as delivering residential and business services on multiple wavelengths over the same fiber,” said O’Byrne. “Not only does NG-PON2 parse business and residential customer traffic to isolate and resolve potential problems in the network, it can also scale to achieve speeds of 40 Gbps and above.”

Delegates attending the summit will hear how some of the Broadband Forum’s current projects relate to this need, with its NG-PON2 Council working to accelerate adoption of the technology.

Additional topics that will be covered include Gfast, the gigabit society, Access 4.0, Fiber to the Distribution Point and the role virtualization has to play in the next generation of networks.

Bernd Hesse, Chair of the Broadband Access Summit Event and Senior Director Technology Development at Calix, said: “We will be exploring NG-PON2 in depth and the use cases that underpin the decisions to deploy them. I look forward to the debate, hearing from the experts in the industry and welcoming the community to these new Forum events.”

Chuks Egbune/GEE

ITREALMS ... everything news digitally!

Nigeria targets broadband investors @ITU Telecom World 2017

ITRealms:

The Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta has said the focuse of his administration at the ongoing Telecom World in Busan, South Korea, is to attract the right investment to expand broadband coverage in Nigeria, reports ITRealms.

Danbatta, in his remarks at the official opening of Nigeria Pavilion at the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) organised Telecom World 2017, said that NCC has noted with interest the recent joint report by ITU and UNESCO Broadband Commission for sustainable development which indicated that Nigeria now has about 21 per cent broadband penetration.

The Commission, he said, is conscious of the reality that broadband fuels faster data transmission speed and capacity.

“Our focus now is on how we can attract the right investments to grow this critical area of the sector through broadband coverage expansion,” he declared.

NCC, he noted, as a foremost regulator, has put in place measures and guidelines to licence wholesale broadband service providers consistent with the Open Access Model for broadband deployment. 

Danbatta said, of the seven infrastructure companies (Infracos) earmarked for licensing, only two have so far been licensed for Lagos which is commercial hub of Nigeria, and Abuja including the North Central zone of the country leaving five more licences for the South West, South East, South South, North East and North West zones of the country.

“The process of licensing of infracos for these five remaining zones is about to be concluded,” he said.

Although, he said, Nigeria has made very modest progress in the sector, “we still need to deepen investments to make broadband pervasive in the country.”

Nigeria, he emphasized is at 21 per cent now, “our target is to hit 30 per cent by 2018, consistent with the National Broadband Plan.”

Remmy Nweke/ED, Ops 

ITREALMS ... everything news digitally!

Broadband, playing increasing role in development – UN

ITRealms:

The United Nations (UN) Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development has released annual country-by-country data on state of broadband access worldwide, reports ITRealms.

Released ahead of the Commission's fall meeting in New York City on 17 September, and amid the UN General Assembly taking place 12-25 September, also in New York, UN noted that, broadband technologies are today driving substantial transformation in many development-related sectors including health, education, financial inclusion and food security, making them a key accelerator towards achievement of the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), says a new report released by the UN Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development.

The report, entitled The State of Broadband 2017: Broadband Catalyzing Sustainable Development, comes with alongside annual State of Broadband report which is a unique global snapshot of broadband network access and affordability, with country-by-country data measuring broadband access against key advocacy targets set by the Commission in 2011.

"Broadband is crucial to connecting people to the resources needed to improve their livelihoods, and to the world achieving the Sustainable Development Goals," said ITU Secretary-General Houlin Zhao, who serves as co-Vice Chair of the Commission with UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova. "The goals for education, gender equality and infrastructure include bold targets for information and communication technology.

The State of Broadband 2017 report, ITRealms gathered, outlined how broadband is already contributing to this and makes valuable recommendations for how it could increase this contribution into the future.

Also, the report examined global trends in broadband connectivity and technologies, reflects on policy and regulatory developments, as well as the applications of broadband for sustainable development. It also presents several policy recommendations.

ITRealms  equally gathered that promoting investment in broadband connectivity from a broad range of sectors, the report had noted, could help achieve the full potential of these technologies and bring the world closer to the goal of an inclusive digital society accessible by all.

ITREALMS ... everything news digitally!

Nigeria ranked 6th on cheapest broadband per GB

ITRealms:

Nigeria has been ranked sixth in the latest study by the Research ICT Africa, on some 10 African countries with cheapest 1 Gigabytes (GB) data, reports ITRealms.

The gigabyte is a multiple of the unit byte for digital information. The prefix giga means 10⁹ in the International System of Units (SI), thus, one gigabyte is 1000000000 bytes, whereas the unit symbol for the gigabyte is GB.

ITRealms gathered that the 10 countries reviewed by the study includes Egypt, Mozambique, Tunisia, Ghana, Tanzania, Nigeria, Guinea, Uganda, Rwanda and Madagascar.

Researcher, Communications & Evaluation Advisor to Research ICT Africa, Chenai Chair confirmed this to ITRealms saying that Egypt offers broadband worth of 1GB for 1.74 United States Dollar, followed by Mozambique at 2.12, Tunisia at 2.21, Ghana at 2.45; Tanzania – 2.99, Nigeria 3.2, Guinea – 3.29, Uganda – 3.43, Rwanda – 3.72 and Madagascar selling 1GB of broadband at 4.66.

Singling out Rwanda for examination, Chenai said Research ICT Africa compared the best performer Egypt (USD 3.13), prices with Rwanda were USD1.07 is more expensive. 

Stressing though that the cost of 1GB of data continued to decline over time, Rwanda was overtaken by Tanzania which offered the best price in Q2 2016.

“Rwanda was later overtaken by Nigeria and Tunisia, ending up in 9th position by Q4 2016 when the price of 1GB was USD3.72; nearly two US dollars higher than the 1st-ranked country, Egypt (USD1.74),” she said.

Chenai pointed out that as with many predominantly prepaid mobile markets, bundled and dynamically priced products are better value for money than 1GB of data, the international standard for data measurement.

Nonye Dom/GEE 

ITREALMS ... everything news digitally!