The National Dig once policy, an initiative of the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami, the Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission, Umar Danbatta, and state governors is set to formulate and implement the policy among Nigerian states.
During the National Dig once policy event held on Tuesday 17, October 2022 at the Radisson hotel, Ikeja, Lagos state. Adeniyi Wusu, a representative of the Lagos State Infrastructure Maintenance (LASIMRA) stated that the Nigeria Dig once policy needs to be adopted by states but with a high reach dimension taking into consideration the uniqueness of the following to individual states.
“This includes, the environmental implication, the geographical and geological implication, and financial-economic implication and viability,” he said.
The Lagos state government first introduced the Dig once policy with the unified ducts construction project as a Public-private partnership (PPP) arrangement for the provision of integrated fibre duct infrastructure for the telecom sector, the Smart City project, and public institutions in the state. According to the state, this is to enhance the deployment of technology in the state.
Wusu stated that the Dig once policy will lead the Nation into globalisation, creating smart cities, smart offices, and smart homes.
Looking at the phase for development, He said “marginal Dig once policy will be adopted in some urban areas, rural areas – wired infrastructure will come up gradually, connection with microwave radio connectivity, other wireless infrastructure will be taken in the meantime.”
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Commenting on how to make the Dig one policy work in Nigeria. Adewale Sulaiman, General manager, Network Enterprise Services. MTN Nigeria said that to make it successful it’s beyond the regulator or government. “We need to have a joint regulatory task force across all stakeholders that come together to formulate policy, and also come up with effective implementation.”
“Fibre rollout is a long-term investment that takes a long time for implementation and with all hands on deck we can achieve sustainable growth,” he said.
Usman Ali, Deputy Director of the Nigeria Communication Commission (NCC), said that with the Dig once policy going into the implementation stage our main focus is our consumers and the operators, with the Dig once policy to be unveiled before the end of the year.
“We want to ensure that there is a choice for people, there is competition and people can decide on what to leverage in,” he said.
