NCC To Strengthen Collaboration With Media On Broadband Access

The Nigerian Communications Commission(NCC) has assured the mass communication industry of its continuous efforts to drive implementation of 5G policy in Nigeria.

This, it said, is an effort to further revolutionise the industry.

The executive vice chairman/chief executive of NCC, Prof. Umar Danbatta, who gave the assurance, at the 2nd International Conference of the Association of Media and Communications Researchers of Nigeria (AMCRON) on Thursday, said access to the internet, and more importantly, broadband, has become very central to official and personal lives.

“Be it in the media, education, finance, healthcare, transport, governance etc., broadband access has become a necessity. If you think of how the internet has impacted the process of news gathering, production and dissemination by media professionals and the convergence being experienced across media platforms, then, it won’t be difficult to appreciate the impact of telecom, and by implication, the role of policies, across the spectrum of our daily lives, as individuals and as a nation. The digital revolution now has a profound impression on the way we function as a nation,” he explained.

The executive vice chairman said the digital revolution over the years has provided tools for the mass communication industry to thrive, adding that, without telecommunications tools, communication would not have all the tools it now has at its disposal to revolutionise news production.

“Internet, websites, blogs, and social media would not exist without ICT and communication would be taken back to the use of newspapers, traditional TV and radio, making it almost impossible to keep abreast of developments as they are unfolding,” he stated.

He said, digital revolution makes communication fast in that,  “today, you can watch any event in any corner of the world as it is happening. Live events and real-time reporting are now possible, thanks to technological advancement in communication.