Umar Danbatta, the executive vice chairman (EVC) of the Nigerian Communication Commission ( NCC) said the commission is having deep engagement with Starlink to reduce the cost of its service in the country.
The EVC who made this statement at the ongoing Industry
Consumer Advisory Forum (ICAF) in Lagos, themed ‘Combatting E-Fraud in telecom
platforms: Building consumer confidence in the digital economy’ said making the
service affordable will help to close the connectivity gap in the country and
make internet connections accessible to rural and underserved areas.
“We recently issued a license to Starlink. This is a
communication service provider that operates all over the country. We are
trying to engage them to bring the cost of their services down to affordable
levels so people in rural areas can equally benefit from this important
information. With time we hope the days of un-connectivity will be over with
the satellite provision all over the country,” Danbatta said.
He explained that there are many satellite providers in
Nigeria but Starlink stands out in terms of fast service operations.
“We are still looking at the price of the Starlink terminal
so all Nigerians will be able to enjoy this service. It is faster than 5G and I
think the corporate world is all over the entire country. This is one important
measure we have put to address the challenge of the access gap which is about
97 now. We have not relented in deploying fixed and wireless infrastructure,
especially in the rural and underserved areas of the country to bridge the
access gap.”
Meanwhile, the chairman speaking on the theme pointed to the
role of law enforcement agencies in curbing E- fraud in the country by ensuring
that cybercriminals face the law accordingly.
According to him, “It is not the regulators and policymakers
that are in a position to curb E-fraud but equally a major responsibility of
law enforcement agencies by making sure perpetrators are apprehended.”
He added that the Nigerian Data Protection Bill recently
signed into law will also go a long way to curb E-fraud as it remains an
important dimension to access the way data and personal information are being
handled and protected.
Stakeholders speaking at the panel session said there is a
need for the commission to also have a target on curbing E-fraud, citing
countries like the UK who have mapped out plans and targets to curb E-fraud
within a certain period of time.
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