The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has said the ongoing process to auction two additional lots in the 3.5GHz spectrum for Fifth Generation (5G) is part of efforts that will further democratise access to high-speed mobile broadband for all Nigerians.
The Executive Vice Chairman/Chief Executive Officer
(EVC/CEO) of NCC, Prof. Umar Danbatta, stated this in Lagos over the weekend
while speaking at the 10th Annual Brands and Marketing Conference of the Brand
Journalists Association of Nigeria (BJAN) where the NCC was conferred with the
“Regulator of the Decade” Award.
Represented by the Commission’s Executive Commissioner,
Stakeholder Management, Adeleke Adewolu, the EVC noted that the ongoing
process, for which arrangements are in top gear, followed the successful
auctioning of two bands of the 3.5GHz spectrum in December of 2021.
Danbatta disclosed that the Commission is currently
reviewing the licences and frameworks for fixed broadband to update them in
line with current challenges and make them more effective as part of the
pivotal initiatives deployed by NCC that are already bearing fruits.
The EVC was emphatic that the Commission, in pursuit of its
mandate, has been relentless in creating the conducive atmosphere for the
rollout and adoption of new technologies, and government has taken the firm
position that the country must leverage digital technologies to grow the
economy.
As such, he said the development of policies such as the
National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS) 2020-2030 and the Nigerian
National Broadband Plan (NNBP) 2020-2025, which the NCC and other agencies and
partners are assiduously implementing.
Danbatta informed the participants at the conference that
content creation and consumption have grown around the telecommunications
infrastructure provided by technology, which Nigerian entertainers have
leveraged to become global brands.
“Due to heavy leverage on digital platforms, the Nigerian
entertainment industry has gone global. Nollywood is one of the biggest movie
industries in the world. In fact, more movies are produced by Nollywood yearly
in comparison to Hollywood.
“Nigerian music stars are in hot demand worldwide because of
their popularity and brand recognition on social media. We should add that many
of these global superstars emerging from Nigeria launched into stardom by
leveraging Caller Tunes and other mobile content platforms to grow their brands
and huge followers online,” the EVC stated.
Increasing the intensity of his submission, Danbatta
declared that “Digital platforms are fostering different types of systemic
change, creating new brands, eroding the value of some brands, whilst at the
same time increasing the value of other brands. The
innovation-transformation-disruption cycle have come to stay and will be
exacerbated as technology continues to evolve.”
The EVC left the impressive audience with reasons to be
hopeful when he said, “Let me assure you that the NCC will continue to
aggressively drive the roll out and seamless operation of infrastructure to drive
new digital technologies for the benefit of all sectors of our economy. It is
our hope that Nigerian brands will continue to leverage on robust
infrastructure to grow their value and ensure that our country derives maximum
benefit from unfolding digital transformation efforts.”