THE Global System for Mobile Telecommunications Association (GSMA) has said that for Nigeria to reap more from the $2.24 billion broadband investment in the country, the government would need to expand its support and address various regulatory challenges.Specifically, the global body, which represents the interest of mobile operators worldwide, in its recent research carried out on Nigerias broadband growth, noted that incentives on the part of government will help the country to realise about N862 billion by 2015 in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).Already, MainOne Cable, Glo 1, Nigeria Telecommunications Limited (NITEL) SAT 3 and WACS, in which MTN Group is a major contributor have all invested $240 million, $800 million, $600 million and $600 million respectively.The Managing Director, Internet Exchange Point of Nigeria (IXPN), Mr. Muhammed Rudwan recently informed that as at the end of 2010, the submarine fiber capacity increased by 1,683 per cent, with a projection that the capacity would have risen by a whooping 3,967 per cent by the end of 2011 in the country.In addition, new analysis from Frost & Sullivan West African Broadband Market Tracker, covering Nigeria, Cameroun and Cote dIvoire, finds that the market earned revenues of $929.9 million in 2009 and estimated this to reach $1.932 billion in 2016.Meanwhile, the GSMA, through its Special Government Advisor, Ross Bateson, in a document about Nigerias broadband market in the country, advocated that Nigerian government must among other things, unlock the 2.6GHz spectrum quickly to support the high demand for Mobile Broadband in urban areas; release the digital dividend spectrum to deliver broadband services to rural areas, and reduce the 35 per cent tax level faced by Nigerian mobile operators drastically, a tax, which the body described as double the global average.Already, on the issue of taxes, the President of the Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), Mr. Gbenga Adebayo had called on government at all levels to collect taxes and levies within the ambit of the law.Adebayo, who said this in Lagos, last-week noted that, the issue of multiple taxes had continued to be a problem to telecoms operators in the country. He said agencies of states and local governments had been imposing all kinds of levies and charges on telecoms operators.In most cases, the agencies close operators sites in the name of none payment of one levy or the other. We recognise that government at all levels need to generate revenue in their jurisdictions to enable them provide the statutory obligations to citizens. But this must be done with all sincerity, he stated.Besides, in the last quarter of 2010, the Chief Executive Officer of MainOne Cables, Ms. Funke Opeke also stressed the need for the country to remove inhibitors to broadband and ICT growth.Opeke explained that inhibitors including limited national backbone, high cost of access to device systems and applications, multiple taxations among others should be removed to guarantee further investments in the sector.Meanwhile, the GSMA study stated that only six per cent of all Nigerians currently have access to broadband services, and 74 per cent of those, do so through Mobile Broadband. It stressed that there is little fixed broadband connectivity outside of Lagos, and even in Nigerian cities, adding that most cyber cafés now connect to the Internet using wireless services.According to GSMA, the fact remains that there is widely acknowledged mass-market broadband availability in the country and will only be possible using mobile technologies.Bateson said, it is essential that the current administration acts quickly to support mobile broadband expansion, as failure to do so could hinder the countrys social and economic growth. Not only could the country realise as much as N862 billion in GDP, but people of all ages and livelihoods would also benefit from the vast amount of information and opportunities the technology could unlock.The study found that Mobile Broadband could potentially contribute more than one per cent of GDP, or 1.7 per cent of non-oil GDP, as soon as 2015 and will facilitate much needed diversification of the economy.According to the report, government support for Mobile Broadband services could help deliver significant advantages to the wider wireless ecosystem and the way in which other sectors use the Internet.It explained that 55 per cent yearly growth would be seen from the online retail industry, growing from N4.5bn in 2010 to N44.9 billion in 2015, the financial services industrys benefit from broadband would grow by 95 per cent CAGR, as a result of mobile access to bank accounts and money transfer services, from NGN0.6 billion in 2010 to 16.8 billion in 2015.Others are that the use of the Internet and mobile to deliver social services, including healthcare and education, would generate growth of 70 per cent CAGR, from N2.2 billion to N30.3 billion in 2015 and the overall corporate market, especially agriculture and utilities, would experience a 55 per cent annual growth rate through the provision of services online, from NGN3.6 billion in 2010 to N32.1 billion in 2015.It pointed out that wider availability of Mobile Broadband could also vastly improve overall industrial productivity through improvements in business processes, stressing that a 73 per cent yearly increase in the working population with access to Mobile Broadband, reaching 5.2 million users by 2015, will deliver an additional N140 billion to the Nigerian economy each year.Bateson concluded, Mobile is the most cost-effective way of delivering broadband services in Nigeria. Nigeria already has advanced mobile networks, such as Glos recently launched LTE network, and has experienced significant take-up of HSPA Mobile Broadband. The laying of submarine data cables between Lagos and Europe has provided much of the international backhaul needed, but mobile is vital in providing last mile connectivity to consumers, especially in rural areas. However, without proper spectrum allocation in line with internationally harmonised band plans and broader government support, it will not be possible to realise the full potential of Mobile Broadband.However, the NCC EVC, has assured of goverment support, stressing that an open access model would be deployed.
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