The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has gone into collaboration with other stakeholders, including the Association for Progressive Communications
towards connecting rural communities to networks.
A statement today, June 11, by the acting Head of NCC’s Public Affairs, Mrs. Nnenna Ukoha said that the Commission hosted a two-day workshop in Abuja from June 3 to 4 to explore policy framework for community networks connection.
She said that the outcome of the workshop would bridge the digital divide and accelerate socio-economic development in Nigeria’s underserved and unserved communities.
The statement said that the workshop was attended by regulators, community leaders, technical experts and potential foreign investors, among others, to examine policy and regulatory barriers, explore innovative funding mechanisms, ensure sustainable renewable solutions and strengthen collaboration with stakeholders.
The statement quoted the Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Dr. Aminu Maida, as having said that the workshop is an opportunity for the stakeholders to harness their expertise, insights and experiences to address the critical challenges such as affordable devices, access, licensing, spectrum allocation, infrastructure development, sustainability and institutional monitoring.
Dr. Maida, who was represented by the Executive Commissioner, Technical Services, NCC at the event, Abraham Oshadami, said that the workshop demonstrates the Commission’s commitment to advancing digital inclusion, particularly in underserved and unserved areas.
“At NCC, we recognize the transformative potential of community center networks in achieving this important goal.”
The NCC boss assured of the Commission’s commitment to the journey, adding that the workshop would be used as a catalyst for meaningful change.
He said that the expertise, perspectives and commitments will shape the future where every Nigerian, regardless of his or her status, will have meaningful access to opportunities from digital connectivity.
This was even as the Co-manager of the Association for Progressive Communications’ Local Network (LocNet) initiative, Kathleen Diga, said that the collaboration was to tackle identified hindrances to digital inclusion. “This is a space where we can be open and exchange ideas of possibilities, opportunities that will remain in realizing values of a diversified ecosystem.
“I believe this workshop presents a moment in time that we can explore the bottom-up approach in local communities, small social enterprises, corporative among others, which have the ability to fill some of the digital gaps that remain unfilled.”
She emphasized the need to recognize that community centre connectivity exists and that they can grow throughout the global south, which, she said, are a “strategic response to digital exclusion.”
The workshop featured presentations from the NCC, the Association for Progressive Communications and other institutional stakeholders such as the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) all geared towards exploring a joint policy framework to address rural digital divide.
The Association for Progressive Communications is a 35-year-old international network member-based organisation encouraging digital inclusion in the unserved communities, particularly with communities in the global south and the workshop, through its LocNet initiative aimed at crafting an enabling inclusive regulatory framework for community networks in Nigeria.
