That Nigeria can only at present boast of less than 10 per cent broadband penetration is a source of worry given her position in the telecom world and of course, as a leading economy in the African continent. It however becomes more worrisome that the country could still be fiddling with an important procedure such as the implementation of the National Broadband Plan (NBP), which was designed to accelerate broadband penetration in the country.
When the NBP was unveiled in 2013, it raised hope that, at last, the much-talked about broadband revolution was no longer by mouth. Every stakeholder saw the well-crafted and well mapped out broadband strategies as the keys to unlocking the huge potentials that broadband can offer the country. And it was with this enthusiasm that many even considered the five year target of 30 per cent penetration to be achieved between 2013 and 2018 as a modest one.
But today, the thinking in the industry is different. The optimism has turned to despair and many have already concluded that even the 30 per cent penetration is not feasible by 2018. The reasons for this hopelessness cannot be far-fetched: Two years after the NBP was unveiled, implementation has only remained in the pages of newspapers. Those challenges which the Committee that drafted the NBP had identified and also proffered solutions to in the document still remain unaddressed even as the telecom operators continue to shout at the top of their voices over those obstacles. And this again points to the so called ‘Nigerian factor’ where policies for positive changes are quickly drafted with serious attention but implementation is trivialised.
Of course, assuming the broadband penetration is now 10 per cent as it was claimed recently, it means the country only managed to achieve four per cent increase in penetration in two years, as penetration was claimed to be at six per cent in 2013 when the NBP implementation was commenced. Thus, the thought that the 30 per cent by 2018 is unachievable is well founded given that it is just about two and a half years to 2018 and there is currently no evidence that the NBP implantation will be pushed faster. Suffice to say that the acclaimed 10 per cent penetration can only be found in major cities like Lagos, Abuja and Port-Harcourt, which means the hinterlands, are still being deprived of access.
From all indications, it is obvious that the NBP implementation is not being given serious attention, which explains why the telecom regulator, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) would suspend indefinitely its plan to auction spectrum on the 2.6 GHz band, which was meant to drive broadband deployment across the country. Besides, licensing of Infrastructure Companies (InfraCos) to deploy broadband infrastructures has been stalled for no reason, while only two have so far been licensed out of proposed seven and those two are to serve Lagos and North Central zones. Yet the telecom operators have kept on lamenting about the cumbersomeness of Right of Way process, which has been a stumbling block to easy and fast deployment of telecom infrastructures across the country. Cases of multiple taxation on telecom operators are still there and we are expecting international investors to come in droves to invest in our broadband quest.
From the foregoing, we ask: how do we achieve 30 per cent penetration in the next two and a half years? Is it by this same lackadaisical approach that has left us with less than 10 per cent penetration in many years? Is it with the same telecom infrastructure challenges that have been left unaddressed?
The government and its agencies in charge of the NBP implementation must wake up and give it the serious attention it deserves. Perhaps they need to be reminded that broadband is not just a social need, but a potent tool for economic advancement. For the sake of emphasis, a recent World Bank research identified broadband as a key driver of economic growth and the competitiveness of nations. The report had suggested that the contribution of broadband to economic growth is indeed substantial, and may be more profound than comparable narrowband or voice-based Information and Communication Technologies, providing a boost of 1.38 percentage points on GDP growth in developing countries for every 10 percentage points increase in broadband penetration.
This economic realisation should be a driving force for the country’s Broadband Plan implementation team and the results in broadband penetration will be the only yardstick by which their performance will be measured. The time to get serious with the National Broadband implementation is now and that should be seen done with actions and not with words.