FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TO FORCE DOWN PRICE OF MOBILE PHONES

THE Federal Government has pledged to put effort towards reducing the cost of internet enabled mobile phone so as to get more Nigerians into the internet.

The Minister of Communication Technology, Mrs. Omobola Johnson dropped the hint at an International Forum On Accelerating Nationwide Broadband Access in Nigeria organised by OpenMedia Group in conjunction with Atlantic Telecoms and Media in Lagos.

Speaking during a Ministerial Platform anchored by Esther Ugbodaga of CNBC Africa, the minister said that government is passionate about increasing internet penetration in the country.

The minister disclosed also that President Goodluck Jonathan is backing the move by the ministry to de-gazette a law by the Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) to impose a two per cent tax on mobile devices in case they are used to infringe on copyright laws in the future and that they will need the money to regulate that.

The minister however urged the private sector to come out with plans on how to manufacture low cost devices that will enable more Nigerians have access to the internet stressing that “reduction in taxes on devices will not increase internet penetration.”

She explained, “Penetration goes up when there is relevant content and people see the need to get on the internet and so people will buy a N2000.00 phone if it will get them onto the internet.”

The minister assured that she will not advocate for the imposition of taxes on devices while pushing for affordable broadband internet access for Nigerians at same time adding that the Federal Government is poised towards tackling the challenges of broadband access in the country.

According to her, what she sees as challenges are the surmountable issues of policy and cost in the broadband access for the country saying that the four fold broadband plan for the country is achievable, “if all stakeholders work together as a team.”

She noted that policy issues are not a challenge to the broadband because the industry has a reliable regulator, the Nigerian Communications Commission, which concerned about the growth of the industry.

Johnson however observed that what she sees as challenge is the size of the country and getting governments in enter country to implement Federal policies on broadband explaining that it becomes difficult to implement a policy when we have to work with different state governors from different political parties and with different agenda as well as different players in the 36 states of the country.

On the challenges of cost she noted that the National Economic Council (NEC), which include the state governors, have agreed to crash the cost for the Right of Way (ROW) but that when it comes to implementation there is no commitment from the states.

The minister noted that in the case of Lagos state where the ministry has recorded a landmark achievement for Right of Way, it had to work with the Ministry of Work, Science and Technology and urban regulatory authority.

She disclosed that all states have agreed to crash the cost of ROW and in exchange get access for schools in their domain.

Describing as huge the task of getting all 36 states governor to key into the broadband plan for the nation, she stated that none of the governors are unaware of the great importance of broadband to the growth of the national economy noting however, that what most states are concern about is the need to increase the revenue base of their states.

She however observed too that the operators have not really help matters as the huge money they spend on promotion gave them away as heavy spenders thereby making it possible for states to demand all sorts of taxes from them adding that some states are yet to link the closure of base stations to the growth of the economy

 The minister revealed that every Bill that comes out of the National Assemble is thoroughly examined for areas that may negatively impact on the telecoms industry saying that “if we allow the taxing of input of the industry without looking at the output then we will be reducing foreign direct investment.”

While reacting on the claim of 4G LTE by data service providers, she debug reports that those claims are spurious saying that the introduction 4G LTE services from Smile Communications Nigeria Limited and others are accurate.

She urged Nigerians not to be sceptical about their promises to deliver true 4G LTE technology services adding that a worrisome trend in the industry currently is the fact that out of every Kobo spend on rollout of infrastructure by the operators, 70 per cent goes to taxes, levies and ROW.

She said it is not true that government is unwilling take pressure from the operators but that it is not good for the operators to be getting sanctions every six months due to poor quality services stressing that government will not take the operator off the hook.

Johnson expressed shock concerning claims from certain quarters that the ministry has not carried the industry along effectively, stating that there was a wide consultation before the broadband plan was forwarded to the president for approval.

According to her, a committee of all stakeholders was setup to draw the broadband plan that was eventually submitted to the Federal Government explaining that all the operators have their several broadband plans and strategy, and all that was done was to merger and harmonise them into one saying “it took us 6 months instead of 3 months to work and bring all under one national plan”.

She disclosed that government is working to ensure that the price for data comes down further saying that we may not get to the $5 price per gigabyte by 2015.

She however noted that government is making progress as the price is not what it used to be three years ago stating that it is work in progress and “a target that we can achieve”.

In his welcome remark at the forum, which had in attendance key stakeholders from both the private and public sector, Engr. Ernest Ndukwe, Chairman OpenMedia Group stated that telecoms infrastructure are key to improving human life and economic development.

He said that it is very important that broadband becomes a universal service at a very low cost to the people because of its impact on education and health saying that as such government should be fostering its development.

He observed that it is not a gap but a bridge between developed and developing countries of the world providing access to the services of modern societies.

Ndukwe while making reference to a recent survey said that broadband a key factor to people in developed economy when looking for houses to buy rather than access to transport and other social infrastructure adding that a another survey showed that people would like to see a real superfast broadband in the future.