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This week, Thursday 13th August, 2020, beginning 2pm via ZOOM, the UK Government’s Prosperity Fund‘s Digital Access Programme in collaboration with the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) will host a virtual conference in support of effective Right of Way (RoW) administration and issuance of planning permits for masts and towers in Nigeria.
Part of the agenda for the meeting is to “identify pragmatic policy and legal and regulatory right of way and site build approval processes for adoption by all governments in Nigeria,” said Osondu C. Nwokoro, Managing Counsel of Greenfields Law, appointed as consultants to the UK Government’s Prosperity Fund‘s Digital Access Programme.
The meeting will help “to facilitate the uniform enhancement of broadband access and availability and the attainment of aspirations of the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy 2019 and the National Broadband Plan 2020-2025,” notes a document sighted by IT Edge News.
Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Ali Pantami will be leading other stakeholders including the Executive Vice Chairman of the NCC, Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta, state governors and chief executive officers of telecommunications companies, at the technical conference.
The technical conference is part of the UK Government’s support package to advance policy and regulatory reforms on RoW in order to promote inclusive and sustainable digital access in the country.
The virtual conference is fostered round a technical study project for which the UK Government commissioned Greenfields Law; targeting to improve the status of RoW in Nigeria and invariably make digital access more affordable. A document by Greenfields Law states: “This project required the following outputs:
- Research into, and preparation of an in-country study report on the current charging approach for RoW and issuance of planning permits for masts and towers by all the states, the federal agencies and local governments and of the relevant administration strategy deployed by each.
- Research into, and preparation of a technical presentation (which is to be presented during the e-conference) on the proposed reforms on RoW and issuance of planning permits for masts and towers.
- Stakeholder engagement, consultations with government and industry and outreach activities needed to drive the attainment of Project objectives.”
According to Nwokoro, a telecommunications policy and regulation practitioner, the study developed a pragmatic policy, legal and regulatory right of way and site build processes which will be recommended at the conference for adoption at all levels of government.
In conducting the study, said Nwokoro, “all segments of the telecommunications industry– mobile operators, internet service providers, tower companies, fiber companies, advocacy groups like ATCON and ALTON, NIG, NATCOMS, AA4I were engaged as well as policy forums like the Nigeria Governors Forum and relevant agencies and officials of state governments across the six geo political zones. Best practices around right of way and site build permitting from various countries were also referred to.|
He added: “The findings and recommendations from the said study are to be presented at [the] technical conference. In attendance will be the British Deputy High Commissioner, the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Executive Vice Chairman of the NCC, state governors such as the Imo State Governor who has indicated his availability, representatives from the Department for International Development (DFID) and other relevant stakeholders in the telecommunications industry and private sector.”
