LAGOS: The Nigerian government announced a goal of 12 percent broadband penetration target for mobile service operators in the country and fiber optic companies in an effort to push Internet services into rural areas across the country. The country's Minister of Communications Technology Omobola Johnson said at a press conference that her ministry and the regulator Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) is hopeful that these goals can be met and boost telecommunications across Nigeria. The ministry said that this is in line with the minister's mandate to ensure that Nigeria meets the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) Broadband Commission For Digital Development demand that at least half the developing nation's population and 40 percent of households in developing countries use broadband Internet by 2015. “We set a target to double our broadband penetration from 6 percent to 12 percent in the next three years. The ministry and the NCC are working to develop the intervention areas that will be critical to do this,” Johnson said. She added that broadband was about getting fast Internet all over Nigeria in both urban, semi urban and rural areas. “We have decided within the ministry that this country is really underserved when it comes to broadband. There is nobody that was properly served in this country as far as internet is concerned. Broadband penetration is really one of the things that the ministry will be focusing on going forward,” the minister added. “We are working to enable fiber optic deployment, complemented by Microwave and Satellite to enable access to core underserved areas.” BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/OuzxN Tags: Internet, Nigeria, Telecom Section: Tech, West Africa
