Broadband: NCC announces Infraco for Lagos Region

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), on Thursday said MainOne Cable won the licence as the infrastructure company (infraco) for Lagos region. The Executive Vice Chairman, Dr Eugene Juwah, made the disclosure at the 4th Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Industry Stakeholders' Forum, organised by the Ministry of Communication Technology in Lagos. He also said that IHS, an already existing infraco, won the bid for the deployment of ICT infrastructure and associated equipment in the North-Central region. According to him, the plan of the commission is to divide Nigeria into seven zones, so as to ensure even distribution of infrastructure across the country. 'The award letters are already on the way and with the new infracos, a new regulation will come up,' he said. Juwah said that the bidding processes were still ongoing and the remaining five infracos would be licensed by July. He said that the bid process for licensing of infracos and the deployment of metropolitan optic fibre infrastructure and associated equipment would be done in an open access, non-discriminatory and price regulated basis. According to him, the open access model has been examined and considered as a strategic means for the deployment of optic backbone transmission infrastructure network in Nigeria. He said that the ultimate goal of the commission was to bridge the current broadband gap, facilitate the deployment of local content and deliver cost effective services to households and businesses. Juwah said that the process was expected to address the challenge of fibre deployment in towns and cities, and promote infrastructure sharing. He said that the process would also reduce the right of way issues and transform the beneficiary states to smart states amongst other privileges. 'When the seven infracos finally come on board, they are expected to take broadband infrastructure from the ocean and connect them to the cities and hinterland across the country. 'This will make Internet ubiquitous in Nigeria and this will in turn impact positively on the economy,' Juwah said. Also, Ms Funke Opeke, the Chief Executive Officer of MainOne, said that the company was pleased and excited to have emerged the winner for Lagos region. Opeke said that the company was eager to deliver the benefits of the licence to Nigerians. (NAN)