Executive Vice Chairman, NCC, Prof Umar Danbatta.

The Nigeria Communications Commission NCC has said that well over 80 million Nigerians can presently access high speed internet services while more than 150million have access to internet services.

Speaking at a Talk-To-The Regulator Forum TTTR held in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital, South-South Nigeria, Executive Vice Chairman of the commission, Prof Umar Danbatta, also disclosed that the commission is projecting the achievement of 90 per cent Broadband penetration by year 2025, and well above 50 per cent at the end of 2023.

This is in line with the Nigeria National Broadband Plan (NNBP 2020 – 2025), under which the NCC is providing industry leadership to facilitate the achievement of these projections.

He noted that the telecom industry has witnessed milestones in more ways than one, including the rapid growth in technology, which is redefining service delivery, and creating wide and high expectations from all stakeholders. 

According to him, it was in a bid to keep up to date with developments in the industry that the commission has equally taken measures to improve regulations to accommodate the rapid and continuous development.

Some of these interventions and responses include but not limited to facilitating the Roll-Out of 5G service provision, the introduction of Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) Licence to bridge the gap between unserved and underserved areas.

The commission is also currently reviewing the scope and structure of its existing licenses to make them more robust and to accommodate some of the identified new industry trends.

The Chairman said: “It is with great delight that I welcome you all to the first `Talk-To-The Regulator ` Forum for the Year, 2023, holding in the South-South, Yenagoa, Bayelsa State.

“The NCC in keeping with its mandate, creates opportunities to interact with its licensees on industry issues and new trends via stakeholder fora, with a view to gathering relevant information that would further advance the development of the industry, while improving regulations and service delivery to telecom consumers.

“The TTTR Forum in Yenagoa which was originally scheduled to hold in 2022 but was postponed due to the dreadful flood disaster that hit Bayelsa and some other states in the year. The Commission, therefore, seize this opportunity to commiserate with the people of Bayelsa State and the entire nation on the worst flood disaster recorded in the history of the nation. We pray that such natural disaster shall not plaque our dear nation again, and equally believe that the state has made adequate preparations for any future occurrences.

“The ‘Talk-To-The Regulator` Forum is a common platform for non-discriminatory interaction on a one-on-one basis, between the Licensees and the Regulator on several industry issues, pertinent to the Licensees and of national interest. 

“I am pleased to welcome our Licensees to this event and hopeful that during the two-day session, we would discuss and identify the measures necessary to improve investment and service delivery. I therefore appeal to you all to feel free to ask questions, provide feedback and proffer possible solutions that would address the concerns that might be raised during the interactive sessions.”