Aminu Maida, executive vice chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), has emphasised that telecom operators must consider strategic actions to stay in business.
He noted that this includes government, industry, and academia partnerships, which will drive innovation and development.
He disclosed this at the recently concluded second edition of the West Africa Telecoms Infrastructure Summit and Exhibition (WATISE), themed, ‘Shaping the future of the telecoms infrastructure industry: Trends and Insights for a Digital Economy’ organised by TechnologyMirror.
Maida noted that the journey towards a digital economy has a future paved with immense possibilities and profound challenges. “How we navigate this path will determine Nigeria’s role in the global digital landscape,” he said.
The EVC, represented by Victor Adoga, the head of Next Generation Technology and Standard at the NCC, described telecommunications infrastructure as the backbone of the digital economy.
“The rollout of 5G networks is a transformative trend in telecoms infrastructure as it promises significantly higher speeds, lower latency, and greater capacity, facilitating new applications such as Internet of Things (IoT), autonomous vehicles, smart cities, and advanced augmented reality,” he stated.
He added that innovative financing models, investment in human capital, a focus on sustainability, integration with AI and machine learning, and the development of smart infrastructure are crucial for rural telecom infrastructure rollout.
Also speaking on the theme, Chidi Ajuzie, chief executive officer of WTES Projects Limited, decried the duplicity of effort by telecom operators because of the lack of a national transmission backbone.
Ajuzie said, “While there is no centrally managed national transmission backbone, licensed Operators have, over the years, built transmission networks to meet their own needs, often duplicated on most routes.”
