Today, March 27 in Abuja, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) of the United Kingdom government initiative for Digital Inclusion (IDI), in collaboration with the Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON), will host a technical conference on sustainability of last-mile connectivity providers in underserved and unserved areas in Nigeria.
The organisers informed that the findings and recommendations from a technical study on ‘Capacity Building and Testing Business Models for Sustainable Last Mile Connectivity in Underserved and Unserved Areas’ in Nigeria for instituting a positive change of sustainability in the operations of Internet service and other last mile connectivity providers in underserved and unserved areas in Nigeria, which was commissioned under the FCDO’s Digital Access Programme and undertaken by IDI, will be presented to stakeholders.
The stakeholders will include high-level decision makers in key relevant forums in Nigeria like the minister of communications, innovation, and digital economy, the Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission, the Director-General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), promoters and managers of Internet service and other last mile connectivity providers and civil society.
According to Osondu Nwokoro, director of IDI, and a leading telecommunications policy, law and regulation practitioner and digital inclusion advocate, “the study consulted widely, obtained and processed information from the material segments of the communications industry including service providers, rural connectivity providers like community networks and cybercafes, policy advocacy groups, consumer associations and relevant government agencies while also noting best practices in other countries.”
