Senate Pledges Commitment to ICT Goals

The Senate Committee on Information and Communications Technology and Cybercrime has pledged its readiness to work with relevant agencies to ensure that Nigeria meets its ICT objectives considering the incredible capacity already available in country.

The Chairman of the committee, Senator Buhari Abdulfatai, made the pledge on Monday, while leading a delegation on a working visit to MainOne’s Data Centre, MDXi, in Lagos.

The committee commended the “incredible” capacity available on MainOne’s submarine cable system and data centre, which it acknowledged to represent the most significant infrastructure of its kind in Nigeria.

Abdulfatai acknowledged that with the capacity already available in country, “there is no reason for the country’s broadband penetration rate to remain at the 21 per cent as reported by the Nigerian Communications Commission, given the booming demand for data and connectivity services.”

He stated that the delay in licensing infrastructure companies and deploying network infrastructure after licensing posed a major threat to the achievement of the nations’ technology goals, “which largely depend on broadband infrastructure to be provided by InfraCos.”