LAGOS (Sundiata Post) – Nigeria has continued to make strides in the deployment of fibre optic cables to accelerate broadband infrastructure build-out across the country as there are currently about 40,000 kilometres of long haul, inter-city fibre optic infrastructure in the country.
Although these are high volumes of unutilised capacity resulting from duplication of such infrastructures on the same route which eventually are borne by the consumers, the Nigerian Communications Commission said it is adopting an Open Access Model for deployment of national broadband ecosystem to achieve the ‘e-economy’ goals of government.
Executive vice chairman, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Professor Umar Danbatta, speaking at the BICSI Nigeria 2016 annual conference and exhibition held in Lagos last week, said NCC is committed to ensuring the availability of qualitative and ubiquitous information and communications technology (ICT) facilities for all Nigerians.
Danbatta, who was represented by Engr. Fidelis Onah, director, human capital and infrastructure group at NCC said the regulator would soon licence additional Infrastructure Companies (InfraCos) in the five remaining geo-political zones to pro0vide fibre and wholesale transmission service on a non-discriminatory, open-access and price regulated basis.
They are also having ongoing talks and discussions with various levels of government to facilitate speed in processing of permits, harmonisation of tax regimes and ease of deployment of infrastructure including Right of Way (RoW) charges; enhancing competition in the market and improving choices as well as classifying telecom infrastructure as critical national asset.
Danbatta said other strategies NCC is working on include revised/updated Nigerian Telecom Policy; national and regional Infrastructure development (fibre cabling, power, road network, security, etc); repositioning of Internet Exchange Point (IXP); and spectrum availability and other national resources.
The rest are: enabling regulatory and government policy direction through licencing schemes, etc; equalised costs and access right for open access model; inter-agency cooperation, addressing the challenges of Right of Way; encouraging infrastructure sharing-mast, shelter, power source, security, etc (passive); and antenna, transmission lines, etc (active).
The telecom regulator said the aim is to create business/investment opportunities in Nigeria in areas such as human capital development; partnership with notable companies in Nigeria; equipment manufacture; vendor, sales and installation of telecom; value added service (trenching and fibre laying); and fibre manufacture and installation.