Nigeria well positioned to benefit from the 4th industrial revolution – Danbatta

 

Admin l Thursday, April 29, 2021

 

LAGOS – Nigeria has been well positioned in terms of effective framework and policies to benefit from the 4^th Industrial Revolution. Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Professor Umar Garba Danbatta made the revelation in his keynote address at a discuss on “Powering the fourth industrial revolution in Nigeria”

Danbatta who was represented by Executive Commissioner, Stakeholder Management, Barr. Adeleke Adewolu narrated some policy framework that have been put in place for Nigeria to benefit from opportunities that the 4^th industrial revolution presents.

‘As an example, the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy Policy (2020-2030) boasts of eight (8) pillars designed to, amongst others enable Nigeria become a leading player in the global digital economy; provide a catalyst to facilitate the diversification of the economy and accelerate the attainment of the key national objectives of improving security, reducing corruption and expanding the economy.

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“Similarly, the Nigerian National Broadband Policy (2020-2024) clearly highlights the various implementation strategies that would aid the pervasive inclusion and rollout of broadband services across the country whilst also developing a robust and holistic digital economy”, he said.

According to him, the NCC’s Strategic Management Plan (SMP 2020-2024 or “ASPIRE 2024”) consolidated on the vision earlier articulated in the Strategic Vision Plan and 8-Point Agenda.

“We have responded to the policy goals highlighted above to harness the immense socio-economic benefits of ICT for national development; to ensure that ICT infrastructure are up to the standard necessary to provide ubiquitous broadband services in Nigeria; and to align the Commission’s regulatory efforts with the aforementioned Policy Instruments, as well as the growth strategies of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) to ensure Growth, Inclusiveness, and Sustainability”, he said.

Danbatta explained that the NCC  has recorded a number of significant achievements in this regard, through the licensing of six (6) infrastructure companies (InfraCos) to speed up the deployment of broadband infrastructure throughout Nigeria; the provision of training and supporting public institutions with ICT interventions like School Knowledge Centers, ADAPTI etc and enhancement of physical infrastructure.

The EVC said that in the last five (5) years, the Commission has expanded broadband penetration from 6% to 42.06 as at February 2021; access gap clusters have been reduced from 207 to 114; Fibre Optic coverage has increased from 47,000km to 54,725 km and Base Transceiver Stations for 3G and 4G deployments have increased from 30,000 to 53,460.

He said that the creation of a full-fledged department of Digital Economy has been created to support Federal Government’s Digital Economy agenda.

“We also increased funding of Telecom Research to N336.4m and have endowed four (4) Professorial Chairs. We have also commenced requisite engagements on 5G deployments and some of our licensees have already carried out trials.  These strides will enable the telecommunications sector provide the infrastructure backbone for powering the Fourth Industrial Revolution in Nigeria.

”We are firmly committed to ensure that Nigerians in Nigeria play a leading role in Artificial Intelligence, Cloud Computing, Internet of Things (IoT), Robotics, Blockchain, Autonomous Vehicle, Drones and other innovative technologies which are now driving growth and national competitiveness”, he assured.

On the question of regulation of disruptive technologies without stultifying innovation, he said the NCC like all other regulators globally is carefully studying the development.

“For now, we have maintained a sharp focus on critical cross-cutting aspects like consumer protection, enhancement of competition, data protection and enhancement of trust in digital platforms through the prevention of cybercrimes and other abuses”, he said.

Danbatta called for the support of all stakeholders on the issue of citizens’ identification and digital identity which he said is critical to Nigeria’s digital emergence and its future growth.

“As we all know, the Federal Government has articulated a Policy that all Nigerians must possess a unique National Identification Number (NIN) issued by the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC); and that the NIN must be linked with all identity databases, particularly the Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) Registration database.

“To achieve this, we had to take the difficult decision of suspending the actuation of all new SIMs and to mandate all citizens to link their SIMs to their NINs.  I am pleased to note that we have achieved very significant success in the articulation of a template for the activation of new SIMs linked with authenticated NINs, and that the activation of new SIMs will now be carried out across the country in earnest”, he said.