Speaking at the Nokia Connect Nigeria ICT forum held at Eko Hotel and Suites in Lagos, Nigeria; Mr. Segun Ogunsanya, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer at Airtel Nigeria, mentioned that partnership among chief government agencies, legitimate protection and security of telecoms infrastructure, extermination of different tariffs and positive execution of the Smart States Initiative are the key elements for accelerating the mobile broadband revolution in Nigeria.
Mr. Ogunsanya was a panel discussant at the Nokia Connect Nigeria ICT Forum, titled, ‘Exploring ICT potential for growth’, which was attended by several industry experts and leaders in the ICT sector, chaired by Chairman of Zinox Group, Chief Leo Stan Eke.
Nokia Networks has declared its willingness to enable Nigeria’s national mobile broadband extension become a reality.
The forum gave credibility to the opinions that the availability of the spectrum for mobile broadband will aid in changing the existing description of numerous activities and businesses in the nation, by offering entree pipes and database of customers for promoters to gain the needed access into the market and giving customers relevant information for them to understand the market.
He noted that, the nation is moving from using the mobile broadband for e-commerce to m-commerce, which powerfully supports the advancement of inter-connectivity of devices within a network, citing that implementation of 4G broadband connectivity is able to accelerate 4G/LTE roll-out.
Other discussants on the panel were, Mr. Wale Goodluck, Corporate Services Executive, MTN Nigeria; Mr. Matthew Willsher, Chief Executive Officer at Etisalat Nigeria; and Mr. Bernard Najm, Head of Middle East and Africa, Nokia Networks.
In his final comments, Mr. Ogunsanya insisted on the need for inclusion of information technology and mobile connectivity to the list of fundamental human rights, adding that this is critical for national development since it will enable the achievement of vision 2020 goals for mobile broadband coverage and penetration.
He also asked for the assertion of telcos as critical national infrastructure, noting that there is need for legitimate protection and security for telcos to accelerate and expand the mobile broadband coverage and penetration.
