By Nneka Nwogwugwu
The Federal Government has targeted to achieve 90 per cent broadband penetration by 2023.
The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami, said this on Thursday at a briefing organised by the All Progressive Congress Professional Forum in Abuja.
In a statement by the spokesperson for the ministry, Uwa Suleiman, the digital economy sector had recorded a 45 per cent increase in broadband penetration under the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, up from the 30 per cent rate recorded in the 19 years from 2000, with a 10 per cent increase from September 2019 to November 2020.
“On assumption of office, we had a statistic of 50 million Nigerians with no access to telecommunication facilities.
“We developed the National Broadband Plan 2020-2030 which targets a 90 per cent penetration rate in terms of population and a 70 per cent rate in terms of our total land mass within the next two years. It also targets a speed of 25mbps for urban areas while a 10mbps speed is targeted for rural areas.
“So far, we have been able to achieve a 10 per cent increase just within a year which brings the success rate to 45 per cent. This is unprecedented and it is because of the President’s commitment to a digital Nigeria and support in approving our policies,” the statement added.
