Executive vice chairman and CEO of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) Prof. Umar Danbatta has re-emphasised the commission’s faith in the vision of the AfricaNEXT Conference (AfricaNXT) to “co-create a prosperous future for all Africans” through collaborations, conversations and programming that are oriented in harvesting, harnessing and leveraging innovative technologies.
Danbatta spoke in a chat with the commission’s in-house media team last week, ahead of preparations by the NCC’s delegation to the conference which will take place from February 27 to March 4, 2022.
“The visualisations and concrete actions of the AfricaNXT conference are in congruence with NCC’s faith in the promise of technology to galvanise Nigeria’s, nay Africa’s development,” he said.
“This explains our continued support and participation at the Conference which is now in its 10th Year, and we will continue to play active roles in this event which takes place in Lagos annually.”
Danbatta regretted his inability to lead NCC’s delegation to the conference because he is already slated to play a key governmental and institutional role at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2022, organised by GSM Association. The Mobile World Congress, the world’s largest and most influential forum and exhibition by stakeholders in the mobile technology ecosystem, takes place in Barcelona annually in the same week AfricaNXT happens in Lagos.
Formerly known as Social Media Week Lagos, the AfricaNXT conference is the largest assemblage of innovators from across Africa and Africa’s diasporan communities.
At the AfricaNXT 2022, the NCC will take the discourse on 5G further in a more pragmatic context in view of the progress achieved over the past two years.
The thematic focus for its panel of discussants is, “Moving forward steadily, timely and with precision: The socio-economic significance of deployment of 5G services.”
Participants will have the opportunity to glean the benefits of 5G services to individuals, businesses, and the nation, with positive implications for the continent as Nigeria matches steadily to become the first country in West Africa to deploy 5G technology services.
The NCC had earlier conducted an auction of the 3.5GHz spectrum in December 2021 which will be used to deploy 5G services. The bid was won by two communications companies and licensees of the NCC – Mafab Communications and MTN Nigeria.
