By OSONDU NWOKORO
Access to “always on” and “fast Internet service” generally
referred to as Broadband is now an essential ingredient for participating in the
global digital society. The presence or absence of it determines what side of
the digital divide a country and its citizens would find themselves. It has now
become a basic need and an index of development like access to electricity and
telephones, etc. Indeed in Finland, Broadband is now considered a fundamental human
right.
The Broadband Commission (a joint initiative of the International
Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and
Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has stated that “the Internet and other ICT
platforms now constitute critical modern resources and are vital prerequisites for participation in
today’s growing digital economy”. It further acknowledges that “the benefits of
Broadband are profound – in opening up young minds to new horizons through
educational technologies, in empowering women to expand their opportunities
through genuine choices, in improving awareness of hygiene and healthcare and in
helping family breadwinners find work, a better salary or return on their
goods. Through broadband, the provision of public services is transformed to
make them global public goods for the global good. Greater access to the
Internet and broadband applications and services help accelerate achievement of
internationally-agreed development goals, including the Millennium Development
Goals (MDGs).”
Broadband facilitates e-commerce, e-education, e-entertainment,
e-health and e-government - the smart world as it is commonly referred to,
where online activities bring about huge efficiencies in daily activities and
also creates new opportunities. Mobile or m-services have introduced the
element of “mobility’ to the smart world. In Europe, the smart concept (running
on “e” and “m” services) has
been extended to smart-homes and smart-cities. Nigeria
is not left out in aspirations in this regard – the Centenary and Eko Atlantic Cities
in Abuja and Lagos respectively are smart city developments., with the latter perhaps
the first smart-city initiative in Africa.
The Broadband Commission charges that “access to broadband
infrastructure and services must therefore be a top policy priority for
countries around the globe, developed and developing alike as well as Least
Developed Countries”. It urges
“governments and business to work together to develop innovative policy
frameworks, business models and financing arrangements needed to facilitate
growth in access to broadband worldwide.”
Without a doubt, Nigeria has made great progress in telephony penetration
over the last 10 years. Telephone
penetration stands at 81% as of December, 2013 according to statistics published
by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC). Having addressed telephone
penetration, the next challenge on the horizon is broadband accessibility. According
to statistics from the ITU, notwithstanding that Nigeria has 45 million
Internet users, the highest online population in Africa, only nine percent
or about 14.5 million are actually internet subscribers. Internet-to-Home
Penetration is 4.6% while broadband penetration is at a mere 6%.With a youthful
population and growing middle class, the market holds great potential. A recent
media review indicates that Nigerians make upnearly30% of summer visitors to
Dubai where payments for goods and service are commonly made via mobile devices.
The foregoing is indicative of a huge market for mobile broadband services in
Nigeria. So the recent initiative of the Federal Government in inaugurating a
Presidential Committee on Broadband with membership drawn from both the public
and the private sectors is very encouraging. The NCC’s initiative of an “Open
Access” model to facilitate non-discriminatory access for broadband development
is also acknowledged.
The dearth of fixed infrastructure and the ubiquity of mobile infrastructure
built over the last decade make progression from mobile telephony to mobile broadband the logical path for Nigeria
to actualize broadband. The GSM Association (GSMA) in its 2010 Report on
Nigeria acknowledges that “broadband is already mobile”. It is the case that
our mobile phones have grown from providing basic telephony and SMS to
providing multimedia services – to varying degrees, we talk, check our emails
and chat, find information, get news online, watch movies and sports, make
payments for services, purchase items and make bookings, interact with family,
friends and colleagues as well as with business associates and public officials
on social media. These mobile devices or phamblets have become pervasive tools
of the digital society, much like the pen and paper or the hoe and cutlass
before it.
The requirements for the effective delivery of Mobile Broadband are:
international connectivity to deliver needed bandwidth to the country, domestic
high speed connectivity to move bandwidth inland and radio spectrum to
distribute the bandwidth to the “last mile” for consumer access. Undersea
cables have landed impressive international bandwidth in Nigeria, fibre
connectivity to switching centers across key cities is in place and growing in
capacity – the challenge of fibre deployments and cuts is a topic for another discussion
and mobile infrastructure is spreading to support the progression from Mobile
Telephony to Mobile Broadband. Government therefore needs to take necessary
steps to ensure availability of the 700 MHz and 2.6 GHz spectrum for the
telecommunications industry.
Similar to the situation in 2001at the onset of the “mobile telephony
revolution” in Nigeria, we are today onthe brink ofa “mobile broadband
revolution”; the 3G network will very soon become as pervasive as the 2G, or
more specifically, the 2.75G network. Therefore the industry is poised for 4G deployment on LTE
but is constrained by spectrum availability as the 700MHz Digital Dividend band
and 2.6 GHz which are acclaimed by the ITU as most suitable for LTE deployment
in sparsely (rural) and densely (urban) areas respectively are not currently available
for use by the telecommunications industry as they are being deployed for
broadcast services by the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC). We had not
met the recommended Analogue-to-Digital
Broadcast Switchover in 2012and this is depriving the country the
opportunity of making the 700 MHz band available for Mobile Broadband. A
revised plan for this is yet to be formally announced and there is no certainty
that we will meet the internationally agreed timeline of June 2015 for Analogue Broadcast Switch off. There is
also uncertainty as to arrangements for the release of the 2.6 GHz spectrum to
the NCC for Mobile Broadband. The present initiative of Government to merge the
Technical Departments of the NBC and NCC is noted but there is obviously a need
for greater clarity on the modalities of the merger and timely resolution of
the various other issues around the transfer of the spectrum to the
communications industry.
It goes without saying that government will earn revenues directly
from the activities of ICT companies in the Mobile Broadband ecosystem, while socio-economic
development will also be facilitated by the service. The World Bank has stated
that every 10 percent increase in broadband penetration accelerates economic
growth by 1.38 percent, and that 1.4 to 3.6 indirect and induced jobs and be
potentially generated from each direct job in the sector. On its part, the GSMA
has indicated that with positive policy action, Mobile Broadband can
potentially contribute over 1.7% of
non-oil GDP in 2015, supporting diversification of the Nigerian economy. It
notes that “… such economic gains, however, depend on a positive environment
created by all stakeholders that addresses infrastructural problems, spectrum
management, and access to the Internet for women and rural citizens”. The
developmental benefits of mobile broadband cannot therefore be overstated.
Clear-minded public-private collaboration is evidently a key
requirement for Mobile Broadband deployment and adoption in Nigeria. The telecommunications
operators are willing to play their part and have demonstrated such intent
through continued deployment of infrastructure in the face of very daunting
challenges. What is so far missing in the equation is an investor-assuring statement
on the deployment of the 700GHz and 2.6GHz spectrum from government.
Indications, from the establishment of the Presidential Broadband Committee and
the merger of the NCC and NBC Technical Departments, are that this is on its agenda.
However, prompt decisions around these spectrum bands as well as clear
communication and expeditious implementation of such decisions are required so
that the Nigerian telecommunications industry can start preparing in earnest for
the forthcoming Mobile Broadband Revolution.
Osondu C. Nwokoro is Director, Regulatory Affairs and Special
Projects, Airtel Nigeria
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