Broadband is critical if Nigeria is to become an advanced country, according to Dr Ernest Ndukwe, founder of OpenMedia Group and co-chairman of the Nigerian Broadband Council.
Ndukwe, speaking at the ongoing Mobile West Africa conference in Lagos, Nigeria, said regulators, the private sector and other stakeholders need to properly perform their roles in achieving the goal of raising Nigeria’s broadband penetration rate to 40 per cent from the current eight per cent in five years.
“We can exceed this if all stakeholders do their bit,” he said, adding there was a lot of demand for mobile services in Nigeria, especially among people who he said demand reliable and affordable broadband.
“Many young people in Nigeria require broadband; broadband is necessary for Nigeria’s future,” he said.
He urged the Nigerian government to take more services online so that more people will use broadband for internet access in Nigeria.
“The internet is the world’s biggest library – the largest source of information on education and health. It is important that people know the benefits of being on broadband,” he said.
For most African countries, he said the strategy for achieving speedy universal access to broadband must be anchored on encouraging speedy rollout of wireless broadband networks based on 3G and 4G technologies.
“Unless African leaders create an environment which encourages broadband network investments and make it easy for companies to roll out broadband services, the situation is unlikely to change in the near future,” he said.
Ndukwe urged regulators in Africa to release broadband spectrum as soon as possible.
“Do not go for lengthy spectrum allocation processes; do not be drawn into making money for the treasury and disempowering the citizens by not making broadband available,” he said.
He said Africa will gain more from broadband being available to everyone and everywhere at affordable prices than in making money for government from multi-round spectrum auctions.
“Remember what happened in the initial stages of 3G that delayed roll-out for almost five years. Just release the spectrum and let mobile broadband flow. Africa needs to catch up with the rest of the world. The operators can and will always sort out themselves in the market,” Ndukwe said.
