The Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON), has urged the Federal Government to declare a state of emergency on the low penetration of broadband in the country. ATCON’s President, Mr Lanre Ajayi, told newsmen in Lagos that the proposal was capable of spurring the deployment of broadband services in un-served and under-served areas. He noted that adequate broadband infrastructure would motivate internet service providers (ISPs) to provide services that would be durable, accessible and affordable in the country.

Ajayi said broadband development would open a new Information Communication and Technology (ICT) frontier for internet users. “Effective broadband penetration was one of the prerequisites for a developed economy, and since the country has achieved voice telephony, there is the need for effective broadband deployment across the country,’’ he said.

On rural-urban telephony, the ATCON president told The Tide source that Nigeria still had a long way to go in bridging the gap.

He advised government to unlock the country’s economic potentials by supporting broadband roll-outs with particular emphasis on mobile broadband. “Effective broadband network will assist in bridging the digital gap in the areas of education, health care, agricultural production and communication. “Broadband will assist the police, the fire service and emergency medical personnel to react quickly to crises, while facilitating co-operation between multiple safety agencies,’’ Ajayi said.

He pointed out that Nigeria was still battling with problems of poor infrastructure in an age when other countries were making efforts to close the digital divide. Ajayi expressed regrets that telecommunications companies preferred to concentrate on urban centres instead of deploying broadband in rural areas. “Broadband penetration in the country will promote the implementation of e-government, e-commerce, internet governance, cyber security, internet exchange, spectrum management and outsourcing, among others.