By Aduragbemi Omiyale

The latest edition of the Ericsson Mobility Report has predicted that 5G subscriptions will hit one billion this year and 4.4 billion in 2025, with North America expected to lead in the next five years with 9 of every 10 subscriptions in the region to be 5G by 2027.

The report, which is the 22nd of Ericsson’s network traffic insights and forecasts, also revealed that global mobile network data traffic doubled in the past two years, driven by increased smartphone and mobile broadband usage, as well as the digitalization of society and industries.

The recent statistics and forecasts highlight the strong demand for data connectivity and digital services have and are expected to have, despite the global COVID-19 pandemic and geopolitical uncertainties. Several hundred million people are becoming new mobile broadband subscribers every year.

As for the 5G subscriptions, it was stated that by 2027, the fifth-generation network will account for 82 per cent of subscriptions in Western Europe; 80 per cent in the Gulf Cooperation Council region; and 74 per cent in North-East Asia.

In India, where 5G deployments have yet to begin, 5G is expected to account for nearly 40 per cent of all subscriptions by 2027. In global terms, 5G is forecast to account for almost half of all subscriptions by 2027, topping 4.4 billion subscriptions.

According to the survey, 5G is scaling faster than all previous mobile technology generations as about a quarter of the world’s population currently has access to 5G coverage.

Some 70 million 5G subscriptions were added during the first quarter of 2022 alone and by 2027, about three-quarters of the world’s population will be able to access 5G.

“The latest Ericsson Mobility Report confirms 5G as the fastest growing mobile technology generation ever, and Ericsson is playing a key role in making it happen.

“We work every day with our customers and ecosystem partners around the world to ensure that millions more people, enterprises, industries, and societies enjoy the benefits of 5G connectivity as soon as possible,” the Executive Vice President and Head of Networks at Ericsson, Fredrik Jejdling, said.

As for the Executive Editor of Ericsson Mobility Report, Peter Jonsson, “The deployment of 5G standalone (SA) networks is increasing in many regions as communications service providers (CSPs) gear up for innovation to address the business opportunities beyond enhanced mobile broadband.

“A solid digital network infrastructure underpins enterprises’ digital transformation plans, and their new capabilities can be turned into new customer services.”

By Adedapo Adesanya

The federal government has said that it was targeting to cut the price of mobile data to less than N400 per gigabyte by 2025.

The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Mr Isa Pantami, said this while delivering a keynote address at a conference and exhibition of the Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON) in Abuja on Monday.

The programme was tagged National Strategic Mobilisation for the Actualisation of National Broadband Target of 70 per cent Conference and Exhibition themed, Realising the New Set Target of 70 per cent of Broadband Penetration.

Mr Pantami, who was represented by the Director of IT Infrastructure Solution Department, National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Mr Usman Gambo Abdullahi, said broadband was the backbone of a digital economy.

He said that the event was aimed at x-raying the current level of broadband penetration, and consider areas of improvement, not only to achieve the 70 per cent broadband penetration but to exceed it.

“We are all aware that broadband supports the development of the digital economy and a focus on growing the national digital economy will also improve and diversify the nation’s traditional economy.

“The plan is carefully designed to deliver data download speeds across Nigeria. A minimum of 25Mbps in urban areas, and 10Mbps in rural areas.

“With effective coverage available to at least 90 per cent of the population by 2025 at a price not more than N390 per 1GB of data as well as the penetration rate of 70 per cent by 2025,” he said.

He said it had been identified by industry experts that a 10 per cent increase in broadband penetration would increase the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of an economy by between 1.6 per cent and 4.6 per cent.

He recalled that as of July 2021, the broadband penetration was 39.79 per cent.

He added that the current evaluation of the broadband plan achievements so far revealed that as of the first quarter of 2022, broadband penetration stood at 42.27 per cent.

He said some of the challenges of broadband included multiple taxation and regulation, non-conformity with agreed Right-of-Way (RoW) charges, and difficulty in obtaining approvals and permits.

He said that burdensome taxes and levies were also some of the huge burdens on the industry and had stifled needed investment in telecommunication infrastructure.

He said that this steady increase was a result of relentless efforts made to address those challenges, but said the government was confident that the figure would continue to increase and surpass the set mid-term target of 50 per cent penetration by 2023.

“Our confidence in this is based on the strength of positive indices in 3G and 4G population coverage, which are presently at 83.65 per cent and 62.55 per cent respectively,” the minister said.

Mr Kashifu Inuwa, the Director-General of NITDA, in his paper, highlighted the agency’s contribution toward the demand of 70 per cent broadband penetration, which was NIRA free domain registration.

Mr Inuwa said this initiative sought to ensure collaboration between NIRA (.ng registry), NITDA and CAC toward getting more Nigerian businesses online by assigning a free .ng domain to every new business registered with CAC for the first two years.

He added that Digital Indigenous Language Contents was aimed at the development of digital content in local languages for citizen empowerment to leverage opportunities created by broadband, Digital Literacy Training and Awareness.

He said the goal of these initiatives was to develop or adopt an explicit Digital Literacy standard with coherent training and requisite certification for the duration of the plan.

“Our goal is to achieve at least one million developers with skills in various aspects of app development in the next 18 months.

“Our long-term objective is to champion the recalibration of the curriculum of institutions of higher learning, which remain the largest pipeline in the production of digital talent.

“It will ensure the implementation of the Nigeria e-Government Interoperability framework (Ne-GIF).

“The framework specifies concepts, principles, policies, recommendations, standards, and best practices for MDAs to work together towards cross-portfolio and seamless services delivery,” he said.

On his part, the President of ATCON, Mr Ikechukwu Nnamani, in his opening remarks, said that the event was an interactive session.

Mr Nnamani said this was something that would drive the country forward in a positive way and lead to development across all sectors of the economy.

“We are exploring and taking inventory of where we are in terms of the broadband target that has been set.

“We all know this is critical to the digital economy we are trying to build, which is why the broadband plan must be implemented and achieved,” he said.

The conference had panel sessions; the first session was on the state of broadband implementation in Nigeria.

The second session was on the Impact of Broadband Infrastructure on Over The Top (OTT) service providers, Fintech/e-commerce, equipment vendors, VAS providers, satellite operators, internet service providers, Manufacturers’ representatives, and Data Centre operators.

By Adedapo Adesanya

The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has issued a Code of Practice for interactive computer service platforms like Twitter, WhatsApp, Tik Tok and others.

The agency is mandated by section 6 of the NITDA Act 2007, to standardize, coordinate and develop regulatory frameworks for all Information Technology (IT) practices in Nigeria.

In a statement signed by Mrs Hadiza Umar, Head of Corporate Affairs and External Relationship, NITDA, on Monday evening, the agency explained that the code is in accordance with the mandate of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration to develop a Code of Practice for Interactive Computer Service Platforms/Internet Intermediaries (Online Platforms), in collaboration with relevant regulatory agencies and stakeholders.

“In line with the directive, NITDA wishes to present to the Public a Code of Practice for Interactive Computer Service Platforms/Internet Intermediaries for further review and input,” the statement said.

“The Code of Practice is aimed at protecting fundamental human rights of Nigerians and non-Nigerians living in the country as well as define guidelines for interacting on the digital ecosystem. This is in line with international best practices as obtainable in democratic nations such as the United State of America, the United Kingdom, the European Union, and the United Nations.

“The Code of Practice was developed in collaboration with the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), as well as input from Interactive Computer Service Platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, Google, and Tik Tok amongst others.

“Other relevant stakeholders with peculiar knowledge in this area were consulted such as Civil Society Organizations and expert groups. The results of these consultations were duly incorporated into the Draft Code of Practice.

“The new global reality is that the activities conducted on these online platforms wield enormous influence over our society, social interaction, and economic choices. Hence, the Code of Practice is an intervention to recalibrate the relationship of online platforms with Nigerians in order to maximise mutual benefits for our nation, while promoting a sustainable digital economy.

“Additionally, the Code of Practice sets out procedures to safeguard the security and welfare of Nigerians while interacting on these Platforms. It aims to demand accountability from online platforms regarding unlawful and harmful content on their platforms.

“Furthermore, it establishes a robust framework for collaborative efforts to protect Nigerians against online harms, such as hate speech, cyber-bullying, as well as disinformation and/or misinformation.

“Similarly, to ensure compliance with the Code of Practice, NITDA also wishes to notify all Interactive Computer Service Platforms/Internet Intermediaries operating in Nigeria that the Federal Government of Nigeria has set out conditions for operating in the country.

These conditions (contained here) address issues around legal registration of operations, taxation, and managing prohibited publications in line with Nigerian laws.

The conditions are as follows: “Establish a legal entity i.e., register with Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC); Appoint a designated country representative to interface with Nigerian authorities; Abide by all regulatory demands after establishing a legal presence;

Others include — “Comply with all applicable tax obligations on its operations under Nigerian law; Provide a comprehensive compliance mechanism to avoid publication of prohibited contents and unethical behaviour on their platform; and Provide information to authorities on harmful accounts, suspected botnets, troll groups, and other coordinated disinformation networks and deleting any information that violates Nigerian law within an agreed time.”

The federal government then reiterated its commitment to ensuring that the country fully harnesses the potential of the digital economy and safeguards the security and interest of its citizens in the digital ecosystem.