Telecoms sector contributes N1.5tn to GDP- NCC

As the Federal Government continues in its quest to diversify the nation’s economy, the country’s telecommunications sector is said to have contributed N1.549tn to the Gross Domestic Product in the second quarter of this year, representing 6.68 per cent increase from the first quarter’s figure of N1.452tn.

The Executive Vice Chairman, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Prof. Umar Danbatta, who dropped this hint, stated that the figures were derived from the recently released National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) report on the economy.

Danbatta said, “The NBS report has confirmed that the telecommunications sector, during the second quarter of 2017, contributed 9.5 per cent to the GDP in contrast to 9.1 per cent contribution in the first quarter of the year.
“We are very proud of the remarkable contribution the sector is making. Even in recent times when the whole economy was facing challenges, the sector remained resilient and stable.”

The EVC NCC also said that the commission had noticed a “remarkable increase in data usage in the country,” stressing that the Chairperson of the Liberia Telecommunications Authority, Madam Angelique Weeks, and a team of administrators from the West Africa Telecommunication Regulators Association had observed the development.
“The monthly data usage is about 40 million terabytes,” he added.

He gave the assurance that the country would undergo a massive Information and Communications Technology transformation by the time the excess data capacity at the landing point in Lagos was deployed to the hinterland through licensing of infrastructure companies.

Commenting on the Internet access in the country, he said, “Broadband penetration in the country currently stands at 21 per cent, as Nigeria is inching toward 30 per cent penetration next year, which is in line with its national broadband target.

“The commission has approved spectrum trading consistent with an item of the eight-point agenda, optimising the use and benefits of spectrum, to ensure that no acquired spectrum is left unutilised,” Danbatta said.