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By Oluwatobi Opusunju and Chinedu James
Ubiquitous broadband penetration is achievable in Nigeria. But the ecosystem must first be enabling for investment to happen, said CloudCover’s CEO, Nick Dixon to IT Edge News in Lagos.
He said Nigeria has a wide area to cover and as such, investments, both direct and indirect are needed to accelerate the country’s broadband penetration.
“Nigeria is so vast; it’s a huge expanse to cover and requires huge investment to have that constant and reliable broadband connectivity. So, there’s need for a robust investment friendly environment for more investors to come into play,” he said.
Nick’s position has also been echoed by other stakeholders who have decried the issues stalling more investment into the sector for the full roll out of broadband in the country. These issues include right of way (RoW), over taxation, and insecurity of critical telecoms infrastructures among others.
Nigeria has a broadband plan of achieving 30% broadband pervasiveness by the end of this year. Currently the broadband penetration is put at 23% according to recent data by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).
Although, there are enough bandwidth at the shores of Lagos, but physical and regulatory impediments have largely stalled last mile capacity to deliver connectivity services to retail end-users, thereby hampering a ubiquitous broadband regime.
Telecoms under tax with policy siege
“In Nigeria today, the telecommunications sector is faced with the challenge of multiple taxation. This is not helping the industry to grow as all tiers of government are taxing the sector and the direct resultant effect of this is erosion of profits, which does not encourage further direct investment to the country,” the President of Association of Telecoms Companies of Nigeria (ATCON), Olushola Teniola had told IT Edge News in another recent interaction.
CloudCover is a pioneer provider of multi-network mobile data services. Its recently launched flagship Mi-Fi devices are built on revolutionary virtual SIM technology, which enable users to connect to the most reliable network available across more than seven different mobile data networks.
Since it opened for business, CloudCover through its Mi-Fi devices has opened individuals and businesses up to new levels of productivity by ensuring that the key people in a client’s life or businesses are always connected. The device boasts of a coverage that spans across over 100 countries.
“From Lagos to London, Nairobi to New York, Abuja to Amsterdam, Durban to Dubai and far beyond, the Mi-Fi device with long-lasting battery of 6,000mAh will make you stay connected all through,” said Dixon.
