The Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian
Communications Commission (NCC), Prof Umar Garba Danbatta has said that the
telecoms sector contributed N1.549 trillion to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
in the second quarter of 2017, representing 6.68 per cent increase from the first
quarter of the year (N1.452 trillion).
Speaking while receiving the Chairperson of Liberia
Telecommunications Authority (LTA) Madam Angelique Weeks, who paid him a
courtesy visit yesterday in Abuja, Danbatta, said the figures were derived from
recently released Bureau of Statistics (NBS’s) report on the economy.
The NBS’s report has confirmed that the
telecommunications sector, during the second quarter of 2017, contributed 9.5
per cent to the GDP in contrast to 9.1 per cent contribution in the first
quarter of the year.
“We are very proud of the remarkable contribution the
sector is making. Even at the recent times when the whole economy was facing
challenges, the sector had remained resilient and stable,” he told the visitor
who was accompanied by a team of administrators from West Africa
Telecommunication Regulators Association (WATRA).
Similarly, the NCC boss told the visitors that the
commission has also noticed a remarkable increase in the data usage in the
country.
“The monthly data usage is about 40 million terabytes,”
he noted.
He, however, expressed optimism that the country would
undergo a massive ICT transformation by the time the excess data capacity at
landing point in Lagos is deployed to the hinterland through licensing of
infracos (infrastructure companies).
Speaking further, Danbatta noted that the broadband
penetration in the country currently stands at 21 per cent, as Nigeria is
inching toward 30 per cent penetration next year, which is in line with its
National Broadband target.
He said, the commission has approved spectrum trading
consistent with an item of the 8-Point Agenda, optimizing the use and benefits
of spectrum, to ensure that no acquired spectrum is left unutilized.
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