By Adekunle Adekoya

BROADBAND  availability in Nigeria will be achieved, on the part of government, through clear government policy, effective and independent regulation that attracts the necessary investments and spectrum, while for the industry regulator, NCC, adoption of a combination of utility, equal access and passive infrastructure models as open access model to drive broadband to the last mile across Nigeria is the way.

These, among others, were the submissions at the Nigeria Broadband Forum held in Lagos last week, organized by the Nigerian Communications Commission with the theme, ‘Demand as Catalyst for Broadband Services in Nigeria.’

Minister of Communications Technology, Mrs Omobola Johnson, in her opening address to the forum which attracted key stakeholders in the Nigerian ICT industry, international organisations and other stakeholders said:

What to do
“The pricing and the availability of broadband today bears many similarities to the pre GSM telecoms market – access to voice services was expensive if you got it and it didn’t always work  because of infrastructure issues – remember those days of picking up the phone from the cradle and waiting for a dial tone!

Average broadband speeds  today are slow and with a penetration rate of just six per cent or thereabouts it is not ubiquitous – demand has already far outstripped supply.

In the light of these corollaries, I would suggest that the same three things that fuelled our success in voice will fuel our success in the delivery of broadband services in Nigeria – clear government policy, effective and independent regulation that attracts the necessary investments and again spectrum.”

In his remarks, Executive Vice Chairman of Nigerian Communications, Dr. Eugene Juwah, told the forum that with ubiquitous broadband, the nation can benefit from improved economic development, more efficient government services, enhanced public safety, increased tourism, educational opportunities and healthcare especially for people in remote areas or in underserved segments of the population.

He disclosed that Nigeria’s current broadband penetration, estimated to be less than seven per cent is a worrisome figure that could prevent the country from being listed among the knowledge-economy nations by 2020.

NCC Boss, Juwah and Minister of CommTech, Johnson

Largest economies
To realize Vision 20:2020 goal of becoming one of the 20 largest economies in the world by 2020, the nation needs to take advantage of broadband and become an e-economy, he added. “Although, we have done quite so well in mobile telephony segment, we still have some challenges with broadband penetration.”

NCC’s broadband strategy
He then disclosed that NCC will be adopting a combination of utility, equal access and passive infrastructure models as open access model to drive broadband penetration nationwide.

“The strategy will be operator-neutral, providing a network that is open to all players on equal terms,” he added, saying the regulator will continue to create an enabling environment for private sector participation and robust investment in the broadband ecosystem to fast track its penetration.

Also, he disclosed, NCC is currently restructuring its Wire Nigeria (WIN) and State Accelerated Broadband Initiative (SABI) to fast-track delivery of fibre and wireless connections. Secretary-General of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), Dr. Hamadoun Toure, originally billed to be special guest of honour at the occasion was represented at the event by IP /Cybersecurity Coordinator at the ITU, Mr. Desire Karyabwite.

Toure lauds Nigeria
However, Toure, in a video presentation to the forum, commended Nigeria’s broadband initiative, saying all over the world, broadband has become a significant indicator of nation’s economic development.

Quoting US President Barack Obama, the ITU boss remarked that “expanded wireless broadband access will trigger the creation of innovative new businesses, provide cost-effective connections in rural areas, increase productivity, improve public safety and allow for the development of mobile telemedicine, distance learning, and other new applications that will transform lives.”

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In his remarks at the forum, President of the Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON), Engr. Lanre Ajayi said that long before now, the emphasis has been on supply of broadband capacity but it is now shifting towards demand, and described current demand for broadband as “sleeping demand.”

He added that the only way to stimulate it in the country is by putting appropriate and useful contents online also encourage government to put its services on internet for this to happen. “All round the year there will be activities online if government should use broadband infrastructure to get all workers on bio-metric payment system,” he said.

Avoid the West’s mistakes
Other stakeholders lent their voice to the issue and advised the nation on the way forward. One of them, Guillermo Alarcon of Alcatel-Lucent  said surplus supply is already at the shores of Nigeria. It is a mobile driven population with bottlenecks sure to arrive as more applications are made available online.

Absorption of capacity
He urged the networks on being ready to absorb this capacity and made reference to Open Access as a method of resolving various bottlenecks along the way similar to the approach taken in Kenya. According to him, broadband should be seen as an Ecosystem rather than a supply or demand duopoly.

Contributing, Malcolm Corbett, CEO of Independent Networks Co-operative Association highlighted the immense opportunities in Nigeria to scale beyond the heights of countries in developed states as many developed states have legacy infrastructure problems to deal with. Nigeria’s infrastructure is still in its infancy and can grow, meaning Nigeria does not have to make the same mistakes the Western countries made.