By Nneka Nwogwugwu
Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof. Isa Ali Pantami says the National Spectrum Management Council, NSMC has agreed to make spectrum available to the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) for onward deployment of 5G network across the country.
The minister said this on Wednesday at the 2021 Nigeria Internet Governance Forum, NIGF held at NCC Annex building, Mbora in Abuja.
He said the Council have concluded to release spectrums to NCC to administer same to relevant service providers on behalf of federal government for deployment of 5G network for ubiquitous broadband services.
He said: ‘‘we must ensure that 5G is not used against the nation and its unity. Let us use it for the good of our country and benefit of all. There is a lot to be done in terms of broadband penetration because as it is today, in rural communities, only 10 percent have access to fixed broadband infrastructure globally.
‘’In addition, we have been addressing the issues which help to increase the cost of broadband in the country. For example, before now, the charges for Right of Way, RoW was 6000 per linear metre but now, it has dropped by more than 98 percent, while some states even charge as low as 145 per linear meter.”
