Experts explore how emerging trend will shape telecoms infrastucture to tackle challenges

Telecommunications experts across West Africa have exposed trending innovations relying on telecoms infrastructure, harping on the strategies that are crucial for the sustainability of telecommunications infrastructure to fast-track the region’s digital economy.

Speaking at the second edition of the West Africa Telecoms Infrastructure Summit and Exhibtion (WATISE) with the theme, ‘Shaping the Future of the Telecoms Infrastructure Industry: Trends and Insights for a Digital Economy,’ organised by TechnologyMirror, an online telecoms news and information platform, held in Lagos recently, the experts x-rayed critical issues that relate the survival of the telecoms industry using the Nigerian market as a reference point.

Leading the conversation, the Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Dr Aminu Maida, in his keynote address, noted that the journey towards a digital economy has a future that is paved with immense possibilities and profound challenges noting that “how we navigate this path will determine the role Nigeria plays in the global digital landscape.”

Maida, who was represented by the Head of Next Generation Technology and Standard at the NCC, Mr Victor Adoga, described telecommunications infrastructure as the backbone of the digital economy, facilitating seamless connectivity and supporting a range of services from basic voice calls to high-speed internet and cloud computing.

He stated that the rapid growth of the digital economy demands robust, scalable and secure telecommunications infrastructure, disclosing that there are several key trends that are poised to shape the future of the telecoms infrastructure.

According to Maida, the rollout of 5G networks is a transformative trend in telecoms infrastructure, saying that 5G promises significantly higher speeds, lower latency and greater capacity, facilitating new applications such as IoT (Internet of Things), autonomous vehicles, smart cities and advanced augmented reality.

He listed other emerging trends affecting the deployment of telecoms infrastructure across the region as IoT, fibre optic expansion, data localisation and security, regulatory frameworks, cybersecurity and energy efficiency and sustainability.

Maida, however, suggested that the telecoms operators must consider strategic actions to stay in business, saying that collaboration which is partnerships between government, industry and academia can drive innovation and development.

Still speaking on the theme of WATISE 2.0., Chief Executive Officer of WTES Projects Limited, Mr Chidi Ajuzie, who joined virtually from Ethiopia said there is deluge of connectivity from submarine cable landings linking Nigeria to Europe and rest of the world.

According to him, while there is no centrally managed national transmission backbone, licensed operators have, over the years, built transmission networks to meet their own needs, often duplicated on most routes.

He disclosed that the Universal Service Provision Fund (USPF) has carried out a detailed study to characterise basic telephony and ICT gaps in the country, identifying 97 clusters with varying population densities and a cumulative population of about 27.91 million that suffer from significant connectivity services gaps. Digital broadband gap is even more, estimated at over 100 million population.

In fireside chat on ‘Enhancing Rural Connectivity: Strategies for Expanding Telecom Infrastructure,’ Tinuade Oguntuyi, Head, Network and Solutions, at Information and Communications Services Limited (ICSL), said rural areas need better network services for proper communication and development.

Oguntuyi, who anchored the fireside chat, urged the government to support network service providers to reach more rural places as they are also full of great potentials for the growth of the nation.

Also speaking, Ahmad Tijani, a local content ICT advocate, commended the Federal Government’s projects to connect the rural dwellers and harped on the need to carry local government leaders along.

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