By Adeleye Kunle
The Executive Vice Chairman (EVC) of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Prof. Umar Danbatta, has stated that NCC will not relent in promoting the latest and emerging technologies to energize business and the sector in Nigeria for the benefit of the country and its citizens.
Speaking to a cross-section of stakeholders at the just-concluded Cyberchain Abuja 2022, Danbatta said the telecom sector has been a key booster of Nigerian economic activities, transforming how people live and work as well as increasing efficiency in other sectors of the economy.
Danbatta said the Commission is committed to driving the deployment and adoption of emerging technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT), utilisation of value of Big Data, Blockchain, Robotics and Virtual Reality, FINTECH, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and Telemedicine, among others, to stimulate the greater contribution of the sector to the economy.
He said it is also gladdening that telecoms has been an enabler of Nigeria’s economic growth and development as it contributes substantially to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
“From $500 million investments in the sector as at 2001, the telecommunications industry has recorded over $70 billion investment till date, while the growth in the sector has been phenomenal, from some 400,000 functional phone lines in 2001 to over 209 million active mobile subscriptions, achieving a teledensity of 110 per cent, as at August 2022
