NCC out with rural penetration strategy for internet services

Ben Uzor Jr

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) is developing a new fibre infrastructure development strategy that would see internet penetration shoot up to over 40 percent by 2015, informed sources close to the telecoms regulator told Business Day yesterday. The aim is to spread the benefits of the growing number of submarine cable systems on the country’s coastline by ensuring that more rural communities and remote areas have reliable access to reasonably priced broadband internet services.

Prior to this proposed initiative, the NCC has issued subsidies for companies and organisations to build fibre and broadband infrastructure with little or no impact in terms of deepening internet penetration. Besides, available statistics reveal that Nigeria currently has 16 million internet users. BusinessDay is reliably informed that the new infrastructure deployment plan which is based on an open access model would complement emerging cable initiatives by pushing available bandwidth capacity to the hinterland.

The ‘open access model’ is a framework for infrastructure sharing where fibre optic cable carriers share the infrastructure used in the deployment of their fibre cables. But more importantly, this model, informed sources said would be strategically designed to bridge the gaps in broadband deployment through central deployment to mid and small sized telecoms operators at subsidized pricing, thus, providing services to operators on a non-discriminatory basis.

Eugene Juwah, executive vice chairman, NCC, who spoke at broadband forum organised by e-Business Life Magazine in Lagos yesterday, said that the model would eliminate the monopoly of big companies, who fix very high prices, providing opportunity for small firms to also have access at the same price as their bigger competitor. Juwah, who was ably represented by Sylvanus Ehikioya, director, new media, NCC, noted that it would provide very light regulation in terms of access and fees to be paid.

He added: “Our strategy is to go into partnership with either state governments or local government areas, which ever authority that owns the right- of- way in that particular area, in conjunction with a technology solution provider, and together, we are going to build an infrastructure. The way we structure it is that, the technology solution provider provides funding and technology. “The state or local government provides the equity through provision of the right of way and NCC comes as a development arm of government. We are not there to make money but to subsidise and augment what the solution provider is doing. In doing so, the primary infrastructure will be build on a community based network.

For example, in an area like Apapa, we will build a number of infrastructures, in Lekki, we build one but all of them will be interconnected. This particular infrastructure will be run by licensed infrastructure providers. They are not GSM operators and when we license them to run these infrastructures; we make sure that all the service providers in the telecom sector will have access to the infrastructures on an equal basis”, the NCC EVC stated.

Amos Patrick, an industry analyst who spoke with Business Day yesterday said that the move by the NCC was indeed commendable, further adding that the immense bandwidth capacity emanating from these underwater fibre-optic cables will remain under-utilised and only serve the coastal areas, if the federal government does not encourage investment in the area of constructing national fibre and cross-border transmission backbone infrastructure.

“I believe that we need to encourage more investment in the deployment of broadband infrastructure and that would include deployment of in-land fibre networks such that it criss-crosses the length and breath of the country. This will enable majority of the Nigerian populace enjoy the full benefits of the cables coming into the country. The move by the regulator is very commendable but proper implementation of this strategy is important, if we intend to improve our internet penetration rate.”

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