Markets

Nigeria Will Attain 30% Broadband Penetration By 2018, NCC Insists

Published

6 years ago

June 14, 2018

Nigeria Will Attain 30% Broadband Penetration By 2018, NCC Insists

As part of efforts of the federal government to provide affordable broadband infrastructure and services in Nigeria, the Executive Vice Chairman, Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC), Prof. Umar Danbatta, has expressed the desire of the commission to ensure that the country attains 30 per cent broadband penetration before the end of 2018.

Danbatta, who disclosed in Lagos during the 10th anniversary lecture and awards of Business Journal with the theme: “Infrastructure and Economic Growth: Exploring the Strategic Alliance,” stated that as at March, the country’s broadband penetration was estimated at 22 per cent, adding that most of the access was through wireless broadband.

He also noted that as part of the initiative to achieve the National Broadband Plan (NBP) target for broadband penetration, the commission had licenced and auctioned frequency spectrum to some new and existing licensees.

Some of the firms include Bitflux Communication Limited (Bitflux), MTN Communications Limited, Intercellular Nigeria Limited among others.

Danbatta explained that the Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) have deployed about 52,000 kilometres of fiber optic cables as at April 2018.

Danbatta who was represented at the event by the Assistant Director, Technical Standards, NCC, Edoyemi Ogo, stated that there are about 33,000 2G, 29,000 3G and 4000 LTE sites deployed as at April 2018.

He added that five international submarine cable and landing station services operators have landed cables in the country.

The NCC boss noted that to ensure the continuous rollout of requisite infrastructure, 12 metropolitan fibre cable network companies and 12 national long distance operators had also been licenced.

Danbatta further said there was need to expedite the rollout of the fibre optic infrastructure across the country, adding that the commission had examined the open access model as the model for optic fiber transmission network deployment to bridge the current gap and deliver fast and reliable broadband services to households and businesses.
According to him, “To drive the process for the delivery of fast and reliable broadband services across the country, the commission established a Broadband Implementation and Monitoring Committee (BIMC).

“This committee is charged to drive the broadband infrastructure licencing and deployment using the open access model.

“Furthermore, the commission, through the Universal Service Provision Fund (USPF), is implementing the following access and connectivity programmes for the under-served and un-served areas across the country which include: BTRAIN-Backbone Transmission Infrastructure of over 3,250km of fiber across six geo-political zones-Base Transceiver Stations (BTS) :155 BTS sites.

“On completion, the BTS will provide voice and data services populations in 930 communities. Other initiatives include tertiary institutions knowledge centres at 73 school locations; information resource centres at 73 library locations, e-accessibility project at 14 locations across the geo-political zones, e-health project, at 13 General Hospitals across the six geo-political zones, school knowledge centres at 1,324 schools in all the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT),” Danbatta said.

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Samed Olukoya

Is the CEO and Founder of Investors King Limited. He is a seasoned foreign exchange research analyst and a published author on Yahoo Finance, Business Insider, Nasdaq, Entrepreneur.com, Investorplace, and other prominent platforms. With over two decades of experience in global financial markets, Olukoya is well-recognized in the industry.

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Crude Oil

Oil Gains Marginally on Monday on U.S. Interest Rate Cut

Published

8 hours ago

September 23, 2024

Samed Olukoya

Global oil prices appreciated slightly on Monday during the Asian trading session, following last week’s interest rate cut in the United States and a decline in crude oil inventories.

Brent crude oil, against which Nigerian crude oil is priced, appreciated by 14 cents, or 0.19%, to $74.63 per barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil gained 16 cents, or 0.23%, to $71.16 per barrel.

Both crude oils traded higher last week after the U.S. Federal Reserve cut interest rates by half a percentage point.

“Oil looks rangebound despite the uplift to risky asset prices from an outsized policy rate cut by the Fed last week,” said Harry Tchilinguirian, head of research at Onyx Capital Group.

“The market will look to flash purchasing managers’ index (PMI) releases in Europe and the U.S. for economic direction, and if these disappoint, then there is likely to be downward pressure developing on oil prices.”

In the Euro area, a recent survey showed business activity declined due to stagnant growth in the services industry and a slowing manufacturing sector.

Meanwhile, China’s economic outlook remained subdued with growth continuing to lag.

“There was some hope earlier this morning that additional Chinese monetary stimulus might be likely in the short term, but the latest PMI data out of Europe shifted market sentiment from positive to negative,” said UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo.

“I would expect oil to benefit this week from a large U.S. crude draw as a result of elevated U.S. crude exports.”

However, heightened conflict in the Middle East could limit regional supply.

The Israeli military launched its most widespread wave of airstrikes against Iran-backed Hezbollah, targeting southern Lebanon, the eastern Bekaa Valley, and the northern region near Syria simultaneously after nearly a year of conflict.

“Geopolitical tensions in the Middle East have edged up between Israel and Hezbollah, which could leave oil prices well supported on the risks of a wider regional conflict,” said IG market strategist Yeap Jun Rong.

Energy

Marketers’ Plan To Boycott Dangote Refinery For Imported Petrol Stirs Fresh Concern In Nigeria Petroleum Sector

Published

3 days ago

September 20, 2024

Ugwoke Ogbodo

A fresh crisis is brewing in Nigeria’s Petroleum Industry over the new price list for Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), known as petrol.

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company had announced price adjustments for its retail outlets nationwide upon lifting Dangote Petrol, saying petrol will sell between N950 to N1,019.22 per liter depending on the location.

The development had created a price controversy between Dangote Refinery and NNPC. NNPC had insisted that it bought Dangote Petrol at a per liter pump price of N898, but the 650,000 barrels per day Lagos-based refinery had disagreed with the state-owned firm.

Displeased by the price regime of Dangote Refinery and in extension, NNPC, petrol marketers considered the importation of petrol.

Investors King gathered that about 141 million liters of PMS are being conveyed to Nigeria by oil vessels by oil marketers despite the availability of Dangote Refinery petrol.

Checks revealed that the oil marketers’ move followed the full deregulation of the downstream oil sector by the Federal Government.

However, the development has angered the Crude Oil Refiners Association of Nigeria which kicked against the abandonment of local petrol for foreign products.

The Publicity Secretary of CORAN, Eche Idoko, who condemned the shipment of foreign petrol in a statement raised the alarm that some imported petrol was substandard and was blended in Malta or Togo.

He said aside from the fact that the substandard products imported to the country would cause damage, Idoko assured Nigerians that the Dangote Refinery petrol will pay them way better than the regime of importing petroleum products.

Idoko called for backward integration, saying some were afraid that Dangote would become a monopoly.

According to him, oil marketers are nursing the fear that Dangote will become a monopoly, but he noted that the mere fact Dangote subscribed to CORAN, there would never be monopoly.

He added that with the Petroleum Industry Act in place and all the agencies in play, there is no way that Dangote can become a monopoly.

Earlier, the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority had declared that imported petrol would be subjected to three tests before being allowed to be sold across the country.

NMDPRA spokesperson, George Ene-Ita, disclosed this amid petrol import concerns.

He stressed that marketers with import licenses were free to import PMS but noted that the products must be subjected to three major tests by the agency.

The President of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote had earlier in May 2024 stated that the commencement of his refinery will end fuel importation in Nigeria.

Energy

NLC Describes President Tinubu’s Involvement In Dangote Refinery Petrol Pricing As ‘Fraud’

Published

4 days ago

September 19, 2024

Bassey Marshall

The President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Joe Ajaero, has described the involvement of the President Bola Tinubu-led government in deciding the price of petrol produced by Dangote Refinery as fraud.

Ajaero spoke during a media briefing at the Murtala Muhammed Airport in Lagos on Wednesday.

According to him, the inconsistencies in policies and fraudulent actions of the Tinubu-led administration are the cause of the ongoing conflict between the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) and Dangote Refinery.

The NLC President criticised the current administration for attempting to interfere with the operations of private entities like Dangote.

He countered the government’s attempt to dictate the price of petrol produced by Dangote, describing it as fraudulent.

Ajaero said: “In a truly deregulated market, there should be no interference in how private sector entities like Dangote operate. Imposing restrictions or dictating prices goes against the principles of a free market.

“For a locally produced product, with no reliance on imported dollars or landing costs, they’re demanding he sells it at the same price as the imported ones. That’s both fraudulent and unacceptable.

“What you’re witnessing is a mix of fraud and policy inconsistency. Nigerians were led to believe that the sector had been deregulated, and in a deregulated market, competition and choice should prevail. So why is there now an attempt to control how much Dangote should sell his product for?

“When the Port Harcourt refinery becomes operational, both NNPC and Dangote should be able to sell freely. But trying to dictate Dangote’s pricing is dishonest.

“This is the time for Nigerians to speak out. We were told that deregulation would put the private sector in charge and limit government interference in business. Now, the government is trying to regulate how private businesses should price their products.

“They expect him to sell at the same price as the imported product, even though it was produced locally without the additional landing costs. That’s outright fraud.”