Nigeria now ranks eleventh in terms of internet penetration and seventh in terms of mobile phone usage globally, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has said.
The NCC Executive Vice Chairman/Chief Executive Officer Umar Danbatta, disclosed this while speaking at the opening ceremony of a two-day workshop on emerging technology forum for the telecommunications industry in Abuja on Thursday.
Addressing stakeholders at the Digital Economy Complex, Mbora, Abuja, at the opening ceremony of the Emerging Technology Workshop and Forum for the telecom industry, Danbatta however lamented that the ranking of Nigeria globally in relation to Network Readiness Index (NRI) was not impressive.
Danbatta who was represented at the event by the Director of Spectrum Administration at the NCC, Engr Abraham Osadami said Nigeria would need to expand its telecommunications infrastructures to attain appropriate ranking.
He alsosaid the global data collected by the NRI team revealed that digital transformation is imperative in order to maximise the social and economic effects of the digital era.
He said the NIR explores the performances of 131 economies in the four categories of technology (infrastructure), governance, people, and impact.
According to him: “Nigeria is a telecommunications powerhouse, with 82 per cent of the continent’s telecom subscribers and 29 per cent of the continent’s internet consumption.
“Our country ranks eleventh in the world for Internet penetration and seventh in mobile phone usage.
“The NRI team’s global data shows that digital transformation is a global imperative for maximising the social and economic effects of the digital era. Despite these remarkable metrics, our Network Readiness Index (NRI) ranking for 2022 of 109th out of 131 countries is both humbling and challenging.”
Danbatta went on to state that, as representatives of social and economic development in the country, prioritising network preparedness is not only a strategic need but also a mission.
“It can create new inequalities, which can hinder the ability of younger generations to engage in the digital economy, but it also remains a powerful way to do more with less at all levels of income. Formal education is evolving, and metrics are important to support informed policy making.”
