Broadband has Potential to Stimulate Businesses – Juwah

By The Citizen

Dr. Eugene Juwah, executive vice chairman, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has said that broadband has the potential to  stimulate business activities, providing support for other sectors of the economy as well as providing better living and governance.

Dr. Juwah stated this at the ongoing CommonWealth Telecommunications Organisation forum in Abuja, noted that government has already identified the bright skyline of broadband shining upon our telecom revolution of eleven years which have witnessed huge deployments and take up of voice-based services to push our teledensity above 81 per cent at July 2013, while data and huge bandwidth-driven applications are still a challenge.

According to him, that government, at the highest level in Nigeria, has adopted broadband as a platform to leverage and improve on the gains already made in the telecommunications sector.

'This is why His Excellency, Mr. President, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, GCFR, recently approved the 'National Broadband Development Plan 2013 - 2018' report, produced by a presidential broadband committee. This report provided a realistic 80 per cent penetration in its roadmap for broadband development in Nigeria'.

This plan he said, has received unflinching support in articulation and speedy implementation.

'At the regulatory level, this concept tallies with our foundation and structure for fair and competitive broadband development, pervasive deployment for national spread, affordable applications, and deepening of skill sets, as well as local content creation among our populace. At the international level, the International Telecommunications Union, ITU, has also lent its support while the investor community has been sensitized and invited to take advantage of the potentials that abound with the broadband phenomenon in Nigeria'.