ATCON Makes Case for 30% Broadband Penetration in 2018

Mr. Olusola Teniola, president, Association of Telecommunication Companies of Nigeria (ATCON), has urged the federal government to rally relevant agencies such as the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and the Nigerian Communications Satellite Limited (NigComSat), to ensure the country achieves 30% penetration in her National Broadband Plan (NBP) next year.

Teniola, in a chat with Nigeria CommunicationsWeek recently, said that, “I believe that the minimum target should be 30%, not that we meet 30% and that is the end. This is a journey and right now we have 21% broadband penetration as suggested by NCC, quoting ITU statistics.

“Really, when we look at the situation we found ourselves in terms of broadband in 2012 when the National Broadband Plan (NBP) was written, it was evident that a combination of 3G and 4G networks at a level of 80% network coverage for 3G and 50% for 4G will suffice to achieve the minimum 30% at speeds of 1.5Mbps download for the right consumer experience that will create an increase in productivity and this may positively impact our GDP by another 1.x %.

“If we want to attain the benchmark set we need to accelerate the removal of barriers that exists in Rights of Way (RoW) permits, reduce the costs associated with fiber deployment across the country and create a compelling reason that brings much needed funds from the private sector to Nigeria to build the infrastructure that will enable this to happen.