Twenty-five years after Nigeria’s telecommunications revolution, about 30 million Nigerians are still without basic telephony service.The Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr Bosun Tijani, disclosed this yesterday in Lagos at the Universal Service Provision Fund (USPF) led Industry-Focused Stakeholders Engagement Session themed, ‘Fostering Connectivity in Unserved and Underserved Communities: Collaborating for Sustainable Growth’.

Tijani, who rued the gap, disclosed that so many things are being done currently to ensure that the gap is bridged adequately and timely. This includes Project Bridge, which is about deploying 90,000km fibre to boost broadband connectivity; Project 774, which is about connecting all local government areas in the country; Universal Access Project, which is the erection of 7000 base transceiver stations and the National Broadband Alliance of Nigeria (NBAN) and the 3MTT, which is skill development.

According to him, the initiatives and support from the private sector can help propel the industry to aid Nigeria in realising the target of hitting a $1 trillion economy by 2030 as canvassed by President Bola Tinubu.

The minister, however, noted that bridging this digital divide is not a task for the government alone, saying sustainable and impactful progress requires strong partnerships across the public and private sectors, development agencies, civil society, and local communities.

To ensure effective collaboration, Tijani said there must be a focus on four key pillars, which are community engagement, leveraging existing infrastructure, capacity building and developing sustainable solutions.

He explained that by understanding and addressing the unique needs of local communities, the country can encourage their participation which is crucial to ensuring that the digital infrastructure solutions provided are relevant, accessible, and adopted at scale.

“We must maximise the value of the existing investment in networks, public facilities, and energy sources to optimise costs and ensure rapid deployment of connectivity solutions. Access to the Internet is only beneficial if people have the skills to use it productively.

https://guardian.ng/business-services/business/30-million-nigerians-still-without-telephony-service/