Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Pantami, has appealed to state governments to cooperate with service providers in ensuring the realisation of the Federal Government’s 70 per cent broadband penetration by 2025.
Speaking as principal keynote speaker, yesterday, at a virtual forum organised by the Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON) with a focus on the implementation of the New National Broadband Plan (NNBP) 2020-2025, Pantami said the government was committed to creating an enabling environment for the economy to grow.
Saying President Muhammadu Buhari had settled for wholesale implementation of the plan, the minister reminded the states that their support was crucial.
He said the broadband deployment was beyond a mere collection of taxes, stressing that states should see network providers as partners in progress.
Recall that telecoms operators are having issues in rolling out infrastructure in some states because of prohibitive Right of Way (RoW) levies. Against the N145/linear meter brokered by the ministry and the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), some states still charge as much as between N5,000 and N10,000 per linear meter, a development that has hindered seamless rollout of the facility nationwide.
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