Stakeholders in the Nigerian communications sector will in November participate in a stakeholders’ forum on the development of an interconnect scheme for national and long distance operators.
The forum was one of the resolutions reached at the end of the second meeting of Nigeria’s Broadband Council, which also announced GIS mapping of fibre infrastructure in Nigeria is currently ongoing, while a preliminary report on open access framework to enable broadband penetration will be released at the end of November.
The council said it would also publish the Right of Way Guidelines nationwide, and a law firm has been appointed to draft a Critical National Infrastructure Bill.
In a statement, Efem Akanga, special assistant to the communications minister, said since its inauguration the Broadband Council has been very active.
She said: “So far several steps have been taken, and there are a number of core deliverables to be seen by the end of the year chiefly increased awareness of the importance of broadband to the social and economic agenda (increased broadband penetration has a direct correlation to increased economic activities and GDP contributions).
“Accelerated work on a Critical National Infrastructure Bill that covers damage to all infrastructure including telecoms, a spectrum audit, and a wholesale pricing audit that will lead to the reduction in the cost of deploying telecommunications infrastructure.
“The NCC has been active and pivotal in promoting this agenda having just concluded the hosting of the CTO Forum with Broadband at the forefront of its program. Raising awareness that leads to growth in demand is still a critical part of the process of encouraging operators and licensees to build services to unserved areas. A planned awareness campaign will communicate transformational benefits of broadband to encourage its use and adoption.”
