By Ibrahim Mohammed
Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC) says the number of active mobile subscriptions in the country has reached over 222 million as at December 2022.
The Commission also said the number of Internet subscribers has exceeded 154.8 million with broadband penetration standing at 47.36 per cent as at December 2022.
Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Professor Umar Garba Danbatta, disclosed this Saturday, at the ongoing Kaduna International Trade Fair, organized annually by the Kaduna Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Industry (KADCCIMA).
According to him, in line with the Digital Literacy and Skills Pillar of the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS) 2020-2030, for a Digital Nigeria, the Commission has embarked on digital literacy training for entrepreneurs across the six geopolitical zones of the country.
According to him the aim was to equip small-scale business owners with the requisite skills and to generate ideas for development of product and service that can be exported.
Professor Danbatta said NCC’s regulatory efforts in deepening access to digital services will benefit Nigeria and make it competitive, comparable with other economies in the areas of job creation; contribution to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth; emergence of new services and industries; workforce transformation; and business innovation.
“It is in our response to ensuring that Nigeria is competitive in all these areas that the Commission continuously puts a number of regulatory measures in place to ensure seamless access by Nigerians to telecommunications services in order to deepen competitiveness of the Nigerian economy by making our SMEs digitally compliant.
“In Nigeria today, the number of active mobile subscriptions reached about 222,571 million as at December 2022 and Teledensity of 116.60 per cent as at December 2022.
“Also, Internet subscribers have exceeded 154.8 million with broadband penetration standing at 47.36 per cent as at December, 2022.
” In this new environment, the competitiveness of Nigeria’s SMEs, for instance, depends on their ability to leverage new technologies by acquiring the necessary digital skills to do business on an international scale,” he said.
He added that the NCC is driving initiatives for full commercial launch of Fifth Generation (5G) network in Nigeria.
