To fully embrace the possibilities that digital technology has to offer, both the private and public organisations have to be willing to use agile approaches in which requirements and solutions evolve over time.
Through adaptive planning, evolutionary development, early delivery and continuous improvement, agile development methods encourage rapid and flexible response to change.
These were the consensus of speakers at the maiden Mobile and Disruptive Technology forum (MoDiTECH2019) organised by TechEconomy.ng in Lagos recently.
Participants at the forum were exposed to how industry leaders are using disruptive technologies such as Mobile Internet, Automation of Knowledge and Work, Internet of Things (IoT), Cloud Technology, etc. to improve the quality of life for people and redefining business models such as Agritech, FinTech, e-Billing, e-Commerce, e-Governance, e-Payments, transportation, smart city, etc.
Umar Garba Danbatta, executive vice chairman (EVC) of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), said through its regulatory excellence, the Commission was at the forefront of unleashing the digital economy that would spur industrial growth, job creation, and Return on Investment (RoI) for investors.
According to Danbatta, the internet is at the leading edge of digital revolution, which informed why NCC is supporting operators to deploy more infrastructure.
“Today, Nigeria has started a test-run of 5G, the latest technology for delivering broadband services and such other services as Internet of Things (IoT), Artificial Intelligence (AI). The trial will last for three months. Nigeria hopes to join other countries which are in a rush to deploy the 5G technology because of its immense promise for digital communication,” Danbatta said.
Danbatta, who was represented by Bako Wakil, director, technical standards and network integrity at NCC, also disclosed that the Commission was “at the verge of sending the N65 billion requests for supporting the already six infrastructure companies (InfraCos) licensed to roll out broadband infrastructure across the country, to the Federal Executive Council (FEC) for approval.”
Meanwhile, Danbatta expressed concurrence of the Commission to the renaming of the Ministry of Communications to ‘Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy,’ saying, “The renaming of the Ministry shows a demonstration of the future of telecoms in all government sectors and the economy; the EVC, therefore, commended the Isa Pantami, the minister of communications and members of the Federal Executive Council for the foresight and dramatic change. This will spur a new debate and redirect the Ministry and other agencies under it as well as the private sector to a new awakening that digital economy brings.”
In a keynote presentation titled: ‘Social and Global Impact: Engaging for Growth,’ Austin Okere, founder/vice-chairman of CWG plc, recalled that in 2018, the mobile ecosystem contributed more than $500 billion to the funding of the public sector through general taxation, globally.
According to Okere, Nigeria, as among the three smartphone super-powers to emerge by 2025, stands to benefit from the smartphone ubiquity across the world that enables consumer engagement in numerous use cases.
He said, however, slowing unique subscriber growth, regulatory intervention and intense competition continue to put pressure on operators’ traditional mobile revenue.
“Over a fifth of the world’s markets will have launched 5G by 2020, spending combined $244 billion on networks in the process. In 2018, mobile technologies and services generated 4.6 percent of GDP globally, a contribution that amounted to $3.9 trillion of economic value added.
“The mobile ecosystem also supported almost 32 million jobs (directly and indirectly) and made a substantial contribution to the funding of the public sector, with more than $500 billion raised through general taxation. By 2023, mobile’s contribution will reach.
“$4.8 trillion (4.8% of GDP) as countries around the globe increasingly benefit from the improvements in productivity and efficiency brought about by increased take-up of mobile services.
“Further ahead, 5G technologies are expected to contribute $2.2 trillion to the global economy over the next 15 years, with key sectors such as manufacturing, utilities and professional/financial services benefiting the most from the new technology.
“The mobile ecosystem directly employs almost 32 million people globally; 14 million directly and 17 million through related industries,” he said.
To this end, he called on state governments’ to invest in digital economy, especially by removing excess taxation on Right of Way (RoW), adding that over the next few years, as the enablers of mobile internet adoption such as infrastructure, affordability, consumer readiness and content/services, continue to improve, millions of people will start using the mobile internet for the first time, and would add value to the nation’s economy.
