Nigeria’s Minister of Communications and Digital Economy Isa Pantami, has alluded to the fears that if the current telecom industry challenges are not tackled the national broadband plan 2020-2025 of attaining 70% by 2025 may not be realisable.
The challenges faced by the industry include: insecurity, lack of adequate funding, absence of harmonised right of way, vandalisation of telecom infrastructure, double taxation among others.
He disclosed this in his keynote address titled “Realising The New Set Target Of 70% Of Broadband Penetration” at the ATCON Conference and Exhibition on National Strategic Mobilisation For the Actualisation of National Broadband Target of 70% in Abuja, Nigeria.
Pantami who was represented by the Director of IT Infrastructure Solution Department, NITDA, Dr. Usman Gambo Abdullahi said that due to some challenges, this figure (45% broadband penetration) dropped to 39.79% in July 2021. Current evaluation of the achievements of the Broadband Plan so far reveals that as at Q1, 2022 Broadband penetration stands at 42.27%.
He further noted that multiple taxation and regulation, non-conformity with agreed Right-of-Way (RoW) charges, difficulty in obtaining approvals and permits, burdensome taxes, and levies are some of the huge burdens on the industry and have stifled needed investment in telecommunication infrastructure.
He also decried the level of Insecurity, vandalisation of telecommunication infrastructure and Power supply deficiencies in most parts of the country which has led to the loss of millions of dollars’ worth of investment and huge OPEX (Operating Expense) burden on the industry.
Pantami noted that though these challenges are enormous but the government is working to meet the target.
“Our efforts at engaging different organs of Government as well as the private sector to ensure that these challenges in the telecommunications industry do not derail the attainment of the 70% broadband penetration as well as other laudable initiatives in the Broadband plan.”
The President, Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON), Ikechukwu Nnamani advised government to prioritise telecoms infrastructure in terms of insecurity and funding.
“Government has to make sure that there is adequate funding through the various government channels; there should be a specialised kind of funding for the telecom and ICT sector. The treatment of telecom as a critical service needs to be actualised so that infrastructures are not vandalised, state governments needs to abide with the agreement towards right of way,“ he stressed.
