MTN says Abuja’s broadband target achievable with private sector collab
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Effective collaboration between the public and private sectors will help achieve the 70 per cent national internet penetration target in urban and rural areas by 2025, MTN Fixed Broadband General Manager Onyinye Ikenna-Emeka has enthused.
She commended Abuja for being on the right path in terms of policy but stressed the need for the efforts of all stakeholders to be synergised to achieve the target.
The National Broadband Plan (2020-2025) also specifies internet speed of 25mbps for urban areas and 10 mbps rural areas as part of the 70 per cent penetration.
“When we look back at 2012 when we had just about 6 per cent internet penetration to where we are today, there is a significant improvement.
“As of the end of May this year, we had about 43.6 per cent penetration. That is quite encouraging,” Ikenna-Emeka said in Lagos.
“A lot of work is still being done by the federal government and organisations like MTN to achieve the right levels of broadband penetration. The journey has already started and further collaborations will help us to get better.”
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Alignment with government targets
Ikenna-Emeka said MTN Group’s Strategic Ambition 2025 aligns with the federal government’s broadband target and the intent of the company is to deliver the right level of effective digital solutions to power Africa’s growth, per Nairametrics.
“Today, what is most prevalent is the fixed wireless access and that is the technology that is being adopted by all operators globally. That’s what we want to scale and accelerate in our drive to achieve broadband penetration.
“We’re very shortly going to launch the 5G technology. There is also a lot of progress we’ve made in fibre optics which is another prevalent technology.
“This, along with the 3G, 4G, and 5G networks, will provide us with the ability to serve more market segments and more different sectors.”
Fast, reliable internet
MTN recently launched its home broadband service tailored to provide fast and reliable internet access in homes across Nigeria.
With deployment of 5G network, Nigeria will be hoping to expand its internet penetration and connectivity to achieve its ambition of a near-perfect digital economy in the next three years.
