The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has begun a two-day workshop on emerging technology and forum for telecommunication industry, focusing on improving Nigeria’s ranking on the Global Network Readiness Index (NRI).
In his opening address at the workshop on Thursday, August 24, the NCC’s executive vice-chairman and CEO Prof. Umar Danbatta, who was represented at the forum by the NCC’s director of spectrum administration, Abraham Oshadami, called for innovation, strategic investments, and a growth-friendly ecosystem.
“The global data collected by the NRI team reveals that digital transformation is a global imperative in order to maximize the social and economic effects of the digital era. It can create new inequalities which can hinder the ability of younger generations to engage in the digital economy, but also remains a powerful way to do more with less at all levels of income. Formal education is evolving, and metrics are important to support informed policymaking. This requires reskilling and upskilling opportunities to be available, accessible, and affordable in order to have more inclusive and sustainable economies and societies,” Danbatta said.
“Nigeria is a telecommunications powerhouse, with 82% of the continent’s telecom subscribers and 29% of the continent’s internet consumption. Our nation rates eleventh globally in terms of internet penetration and seventh in terms of mobile phone usage. Despite these remarkable metrics, the fact that our Network Readiness Index (NRI) ranking for 2022 is 109th out of 131 countries is both humbling and challenging.”
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Danbatta noted that throughout our deliberations, “we will engage in thought-provoking forum discussions that explore the foundational pillars of NRI, through a number of presentations by renowned professionals in the technology landscape.”
Others who made opening remarks were the head of new media and information security department at NCC, Chidi Diugwu, and NCC’s executive commissioner of technical services, Ubale Maska.
Maska said, “We intend to explore the challenges that are present and to discuss solutions to ensure that the country is making the most of the digital transformation. In the end, this forum should provide us with valuable focal areas of discourse, with the hope of discovering innovative and effective ways of improving the Network Readiness Index in Nigeria.
“Furthermore, the discussion should be encouraged to discuss how the NRI can be used as a key tool for assessing the development of the telecommunications industry, and how it can be used to inform decision-making relating to technology and network readiness.”
