BROADBAND

Danbatta Seeks Stakeholders Collaboration On Achieving Nat’l Broadband Implementation Goals

Published

2 years ago

5 November 2020

L-R: Abubakar Maina, Project Director, BISC; Ubale Maska, Executive Commissioner, Technical Services, NCC and Chairman, BISC; Dr. Usman Abdullahi, Director, IT Infrastructure, NITDA and Vice-Chairman, BISC; Kelechi Okonta, MD, Zinox Technologies Limited; Ibrahim Dikko, MD, Backbone Connectivity Limited, during the first stakeholder consultation with telecom industry players on the implementation of the new national broadband plan held in Abuja on Tuesday, November 3, 2020….

Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Prof. Umar Danbatta, has said that government is putting greater emphasis on the continuous engagement of different stakeholders to secure their buy-in towards achieving the targets of the Nigerian National Broadband Plan (NNBP), 2020-2025.

The EVC stated this at the first stakeholder consultation with telecommunication industry players on the implementation of the new national broadband plan held at the NCC’s Communications & Digital Economy Complex in Abuja on Tuesday, November 3, 2020.

Danbatta who was represented by NCC’s Executive Commissioner, Technical Services and Chairman, Broadband Implementation Steering Committee (BISC), Engr. Ubale Maska, said the Ministry and its agencies, as well as the industry, must work together towards the attainment of the set goals.

At the event, which is the second of the multi-stakeholder consultation process by the BISC, Danbatta noted that the 30 per cent broadband targets set in the previous NNBP 2013-2018 were met and surpassed due to “our collective efforts, policy direction, regulation and financial commitment by industry players.”

He noted there were, however, some targets that were not met in the previous plan because of various challenges that are presently being addressed.

“The NNBP 2020-2025 has, once again, identified initiatives to be implemented by different stakeholders in order to achieve the set objectives of the plan. The importance of broadband to our Gross Domestic Product (GDP), socio-economic development, and especially the digital economy, cannot be over-emphasized,” he said.

The Vice-Chairman of BISC, Dr Usman Abdullahi, had earlier in his welcome address, said the forum was to avail the industry players and representatives of government a veritable platform to collaborate and discuss ways to accelerate broadband implementation for sustainable development of the telecommunications sector and advancement of the digital economy.

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Project Director, BISC, Abubakar Maina, made a presentation providing information to stakeholders on previous and new targets, timelines, milestones, strategic pillars, initiatives in the pillars, as well as governance structure in the new broadband plan.

The forum was well attended by industry operators, especially the Infrastructure Companies (InfraCos) both physically and virtually, who gave useful inputs for steering the course of implementation of the new broadband plan to success.

Recall that President Muhammadu Buhari unveiled the new broadband plan on March 19 2020, following the development of the plan by a committee, set up by the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami on December 16, 2019.

As a follow-up, on July 9, 2020, the Minister inaugurated the BISC, which is primarily saddled with the responsibility of ensuring effective monitoring of the implementation of the new broadband plan.

Related Topics:#Collaboration #Goals #NNBP #Stakeholders Broadband Danbatta

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BROADBAND

Smile Offers Customers Free Streaming Data

Published

2 weeks ago

16 March 2023

Our REPORTER

Smile Communications, Nigeria’s foremost and leading mobile broadband provider has introduced a new offer to its teeming customers.

The new offer allows for FREE Streaming data for consumers to stream their favourite content on YouTube, Netflix, and Amazon Prime Video absolutely FREE.

Abdul Hafeez, Chief Marketing Officer, Smile Nigeria, said of the offer, “We are giving our customers so much more when they purchase any of our select Bigga plans with FREE streaming data, so they can have fun engaging with their favourite entertainment and social media services for longer.”

All Smile customers who recharge a Bigga plan, from 1.5GB to 20GB, priced from N1,000 to N5,000, will get an additional 3GB to 5GB FREE streaming data to use between 11 pm and 6 am on YouTube, Netflix, and Prime Video.

Smile said in a statement that with this offer, consumers get access to FREE Youtube, FREE Netflix, and FREE Amazon prime video when they subscribe to any of the select Bigga plans from Smile.

“We are still a consumer-centric organisation that understands the huge financial responsibilities associated peculiarly with the first quarter globally and want to cushion these effects with extra value for our consumers while encouraging other Nigerians to get on the Smile network to enjoy this and many other goodies from Smile,” Hafeez concluded.

Smile communications led in voice call acquisitions in the past year and are poised to enter new markets, as well as deliver several firsts within the telecommunications operating space as the year progresses.

Industry watchers are of the opinion that Smile is a brand to look out for in 2023.

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BROADBAND

Buhari Expresses Delight Over Unveiling Of Starlink In Nigeria

Published

2 months ago

2 February 2023

Our REPORTER

Photo Credit: Ripples Nigeria

President Muhammadu Buhari has expressed delight over the unveiling of Elon Musk-owned SpaceX’s broadband service Starlink in Nigeria.

The President noted that with the commencement of Starlink’s operations in Nigeria, the country now has 100 per cent broadband penetration, adding that Nigeria is the first and only African country so far to enjoy Starlink rollout.

The President’s position was contained in a post tweeted to his verified Twitter page Thursday night.

“We are delighted that Starlink services have been deployed in Nigeria, making us the first African country — and the only one so far — to enjoy this rollout. With this deployment of Starlink, we now have 100 per cent broadband penetration in Nigeria,” Buhari said.

Recall that SpaceX confirmed the deployment of Starlink in Nigeria in a tweet on Monday, stating that Nigeria was the first African country to enjoy its services.

It tweeted, “Starlink is now available in Nigeria – the first African country to receive service.”

Starlink seeks to deliver a global broadband network, using a constellation of Low Earth Orbit to provide high-speed internet coverage with the capacity to penetrate rural and geographically isolated areas.

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BROADBAND

Israel, Italy Record Lowest Mobile Internet Costs

Mobile internet traffic almost doubled in the last eight years, and today, more than 60% of all website traffic comes from people using mobile devices. But, as the global mobile data coverage gap continues to narrow, the price gap remains wide.

Published

2 months ago

23 January 2023

DigitalTimesNG

According to data presented by CasinosEnLigne.com, Israel and Italy have the cheapest mobile internet in the world, while Japan, the US, and Switzerland are among the most expensive countries globally.

Many of the cheapest countries have excellent mobile and fixed broadband infrastructure, which allows providers to offer large amounts of data at reasonable prices, reports ITOnline.

In some countries, economic outlooks also dictate the price, which has to remain low so people can afford it.

According to data from the UK-based price comparison website cable.co.uk, which analysed almost 5 300 mobile data plans across 233 countries, Israel has by far the cheapest mobile internet, with one gigabyte of data costing an average of $0.04 in 2022.

Italy placed second in the global ranking, with a low cost of $0.12 per 1GB. India, France, China, and Spain follow, with $0.17, $0.23, $0.41, and $0.60, respectively.

Although six times more expensive than Italy and almost 20 times more than Israel, the United Kingdom ranked somewhere in the middle of this chart with a cost of $0.79 per 1GB.

On the other hand, Japan, the US, and Switzerland have some of the costliest plans among developed countries.

For instance, 1GB of mobile data in the US costs an average of $5.62, which is seven times more than in the UK, 13 times more than in China, and 46 times more expensive than the average cost in Italy.

The price difference in Switzerland is even worse, with the average cost of mobile data being 61 times larger than in Italy and nine times the UK average cost.

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Japanese mobile data plans are also much more expensive than in other countries. Last year, 1GB of mobile data in the country cost an average of $3.85, nine times the price the Chinese paid and 16 times the average cost in France.

Regionally, North America is the most expensive overall, with an average cost of $4.98 per GB, way above the global average of $3.12. Statistics show Canada is the most expensive country in the region, with a cost of $5.94, followed by the US.

The average cost of mobile internet in Western Europe was far below these figures. Last year, Europeans paid an average of $2.72 per 1G of mobile data, or 45% less than in North America and 12% less than the global average.

That is still far more expensive than the price seen in Asia, which had an average cost of only $1.47 in 2022.