Umar Danbatta, the executive vice chairman of the Nigerian communications commission has said that deployment of 5G in Nigeria and hyperconnectivity remains crucial in boosting Nigeria’s economy and a backbone for the Nigerian fintech ecosystem.
Danbatta said this while speaking on the topic “NAVIGATING THE NEXT NORMAL-Sustainable Impacts in FinTech, e-Government and Emerging Technologies” at the NigeriaFintechNGR Week in Lagos.
According to the Chairman who was represented by Augustine Nwaulune, director, of digital economy, NCC, there is a need to grow the interconnectedness of people, organisations, and machines resulting from the internet, mobile technology, and the Internet of Things (IoT) for the economy and fintech ecosystem to thrive
“Previous generations of mobile network technologies lacked the capacity to carry and transmit the massive data generated under the 4th Industrial revolution (Industrial internet of things – IIoT) and that resulted in the birthing of the fifth generation (5G) of mobile network technology. 5G is an enabler of digital economic development and growth, required to put the national economy at some comparative advantage on the world stage,” Danbatta said.
The chairman explained that intelligent connectivity, enabled by 5G, will be a catalyst for socio-economic growth in the Fourth Industrial Revolution and will bring social value creation by enabling sustainable cities, and communities and promoting decent work and economic growth. He added that it will also bring significant economic and social value gain through the use of technological applications that will facilitate industrial advances.
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“Beyond the technological benefits, 5G is expected to facilitate the localization of several emerging technologies, facilitate innovative use cases, spur significant socio-economic growth and private sector-led creation of jobs,” he added.
Also, he stated that the issuance of the final letters of awards of 5G spectrum by the NCC, expected to commence rollout effective August 24, 2022, entails the transmission of massive data across platforms including trade, commerce, gaming, research, entertainment, artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, sports, finance which remains important to national growth.
Danbatta tasks the government to leverage these new technologies for effective service delivery.
“Thus, governments have to implement financial technology to facilitate citizens’ obtaining services. From the prior definition of e-government, it is clear that government needs to use and keep up with modern technologies to deliver better government services to its citizens as it can achieve accountability, transparency, and citizens’ participation in the development of government performance and efficiency and accuracy of services’ performance provided to citizens,” he said.
Meanwhile, he urged enterprises to invest in ICT infrastructure and services for an enabling business environment, adding that Nigeria’s fintech ecosystem needs hyperconnectivity to thrive.
