The Nigerian Communications Commission has stated that the number of active mobile subscribers in the country hit 220,715,961 million while teledensity stood at 115.63 per cent as at August 2023.
This was even as the commission revealed that the number of active internet subscribers was 159,034,717 million, with broadband penetration at 45.57 per cent within the same period.
Executive Vice Chairman (EVC) of NCC, Prof. Umar Danbatta, disclosed this on Thursday at the 18th Abuja International Trade Fair, organised by the Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) with the theme: “Sustainable Financing and Taxation’’.
Represented by the Director of Consumer Affairs Bureau, Mr Umar Alkasim, he said that the competitiveness of Nigerian businesses depended on their ability to leverage on new technologies by acquiring the necessary digital skills to transact business on an international scale.
This, he believed would benefit the economy financially, adding that NCC’s regulatory efforts in deepening access to digital services would benefit Nigeria in the areas of job creation, which would also grow the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
In order to deepen competitiveness of the economy by making businesses and industries digitally compliant, Danbatta informed that the commission initiated a number of regulatory measures for seamless access to telecommunications services.
To sustain steady growth in the telecoms sector, Danbatta stated that NCC would continously create a conducive environment that would stimulate deployment of robust broadband infrastructure.
He maintained that the strategy would improve the Quality of service (QoS) and Quality of Experience (QoE) for telecom consumers, both individuals and corporate organisations.
“This is because, as a country, we need robust telecoms infrastructure that will help our industries transit to becoming Information and Communication Technology (ICT)-driven, if we hope to be digitally competitive on the global stage,” Danbatta added.
The Director of Consumer Affairs Bureau, Mr Umar Alkasim reiterated that NCC is keen on providing a level playing field for all the stakeholders in the telecommunication industry.
Represented by NCC Head of Consumer Policy Development and Monitoring, Mr Ayanbanji Ojo, he said that the commission is safeguarding the interest of consumers from abuse of their rights and privileges against unfair practices in the telecom service value chain.
He pointed out that the commitment was demonstrated by the commission’s continuous effort to establish seamless programmes that would Protect, Inform and Educate (PIE Mandate) telecom consumers through various consumer-centric initiatives.
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