Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (EVC/CEO) of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Dr. Aminu Maida, has pledged to support Meta’s (formerly Facebook) undersea cable initiative as part of the commission’s strategic encouragement of foreign direct investments in Nigeria’s digital economy.
Dr. Maida disclosed this while playing host to a strong delegation of Meta which was led by the company’s Vice President for Africa, Middle-East and Turkey, Mr. Kojo Boakye at NCC’s headquarters in Abuja.
He said that NCC’s regulatory support to all foreign investors including their Nigerian counterparts would always be determined by responsible adherence to the rules of engagement by operators within the regulatory ecosystem.
According to him, the commission placed huge premium on compliance to industry rules, regulations and guidelines as a means of giving a level-playing field to all licensees and other stakeholders in the industry in order maintain a healthy competition and guaranteeing a sustainable growth in the Nigerian telecoms sector.
Mr. Boakye informed NCC boss that the visit was to congratulate him on his appointment by the President and to also brief him on his company’s ongoing efforts to land 2Africa Cable in Nigeria.
He told the NCC boss that the 2Africa Cable which is estimated at 45,000 kilometers long At 45,000 kilometers long will be one of the world’s largest subsea cable projects and will interconnect Europe (eastward via Egypt), Asia (via Saudi Arabia), and Africa. He added that the system will go live in 2023, delivering more than the total combined capacity of all subsea cables currently serving Africa, with a design capacity of up to 180 terabytes per second (Tbps).
Mr. Boakye stated that 2Africa will deliver the much-needed Internet capacity and reliability across large parts of Africa, supplement the fast-growing capacity demand in the Middle East and underpin further growth of 4G, 5G and fixed broadband access for billions of people, especially in Nigeria.
He solicited NCC’s help to overcome the necessary legal and regulatory hurdles in landing the submarine cable in order to complement existing backbone infrastructure in Nigeria. He also said Meta, through a consortium, plans to land 2Africa cable simultaneously in Lagos and Akwa-Ibom States “in order to ensure those not yet connected are connected while those already connected are given opportunity for enhanced and affordable access.”
