NCC Partners GSMA On Growth Of Telecom Industry

The Nigerian Communications Communication (NCC) has hosted a workshop to discuss how to foster innovation and growth in the telecommunications industry in the face of emerging and disruptive technologies.

The move is in consonance with the 3rd and 5th items of its 8-point which focuses on optimizing usage and benefits of spectrum and facilitating strategic collaboration and partnerships.

The executive vice chairman, Prof. Umar Danbatta, in his keynote address, said the objective of the workshop was to provide an avenue for regulators, operators, investors as well as other stakeholders to examine and constructively exchange ideas on the main demand areas for next generation of services, spectrum licensing reforms and the requirements for 5G and other emerging technologies that are to revolutionize the telecom system and users.

“In the world of today, telecommunications is a cardinal tool of economic development, growth and integration. The telecom industry is a key enabler of productivity across economies and societies. It is not only a significant contributor to economic activities of a nation but also for growth of other sectors of the economy as well as enhancing social lives of people,” he said.

He stated that disruptive innovations such as Mobile Broadband, Internet of Things (IoT), Cloud Computing, Web Technologies and Artificial Intelligence which are all anchored on telecommunications were shaping the future of the world as these technologies enable users go about their daily routines with new ways of knowing, perceiving and even interacting with the physical world.

He said, “telecommunication’s development must be taken with all seriousness to foster innovation and growth in the industry as statistics has shown that for every 10 per cent increase in broadband penetration there is a corresponding 1.3 increase in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of a nation’.

The head of sub-saharan Africa, GSMA, Akinwale Goodluck contended that, “mobile connectivity has improved the welfare of millions of Nigerians, opening the door to new digital possibilities and powering the country’s economic development.”