Main One Cable Company, a private undersea cable infrastructure provider in Nigeria, has advocated for a national broadband policy under the newly created information communication technology (ICT) ministry in order to achieve development and easy access to fibre infrastructure in the country.
Funke Opeke, managing director and chief executive office, Main One Cable Company, who made this known at the Broadband Investment Summit 2011, organised by the Association of Telecom Companies of Nigeria (Atcon) in conjunction with BusinessWorld Newspaper in Lagos, said the broadband penetration rates of less than three per cent calls for urgent need to develop and implement a national broadband policy which, when implemented, would create demand and fast adoption and usage.
According to her, this would help to lower prices, put public services online and encourage diffusion of access devices such as computers, and also establish an enabling environment for competition and investment.
It would also enable the development of access to broadband, thereby enabling network operators and service providers to enter the market easily, operate on a level playing field, and, where necessary, provide financial support to reach high-cost areas.
Opeke stated that based on global best practices, policies that facilitate competition are the most typical and important and have been implemented consistently and compellingly from the initial to maturity stages of market development to drive growth. “Such government policy support allows new market entrants to compete effectively with dominant incumbents such that economies of scale and network externalities do not play significant roles in determining the success of communications providers,” she said.
And in line with the importance of broadband, she stated that the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) has called for a multifaceted national broadband policy in Nigeria because they see it as critical to development.
She said if a critical policy imperative to increasing broadband penetration is not addressed, it will have an adverse impact on the nation’s development objectives.
Opeke emphasised that developing other elements of the broadband ecosystem also provides economic benefits, stating that in November 2009, Google had a market capitalisation of $168 billion, $199 billion by July 2011 and employed 19,000 people in 20 countries.