Nigeria Leads Africa in Launching Major Broadband Initiative
The Africa-BB-Maps broadband initiative is a significant program aimed at improving internet connectivity across the continent. Nigeria has become the first of 11 African nations to officially launch its implementation, a key step in its national digital transformation efforts.
Key Details of the Africa-BB-Maps Project:
Goal: The Africa-BB-Maps project is a four-year initiative (2025–2028) designed to help African nations establish or strengthen their national broadband mapping systems. The core idea is to create a clear, data-driven picture of internet connectivity—identifying gaps in coverage, quality, and affordability. This information is crucial for enabling effective, evidence-based policy decisions and attracting investment in digital infrastructure.
Implementers: The project is led by the United Nations' International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and funded by the European Union (EU) with a budget of €15 million. It is part of a larger Africa-Europe Digital Regulators Partnership.
Nigeria's Role and Significance:
First to Launch: Nigeria is the first of the 11 participating countries to launch the initiative's implementation. The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) hosted a two-day event in Abuja to kick off the program.
Strategic Importance: This initiative is expected to play a crucial role in Nigeria's efforts to expand internet access and improve connectivity, aligning with its ongoing National Broadband Plan (2020-2025). The country's goal is to achieve 70% broadband penetration by 2025, and this mapping project is seen as a vital tool to help reach that ambitious target.
Collaboration: The launch event brought together key stakeholders from the government, industry, and development partners to discuss collaborative strategies for mapping and planning broadband infrastructure.
Participating Countries:
The project is initially focused on 11 Sub-Saharan African countries:
Benin
Botswana
Burundi
Côte d'Ivoire
Ethiopia
Kenya
Malawi
Nigeria
Uganda
Zambia
Zimbabwe
Broader Context:
The Africa-BB-Maps project is part of a larger regional effort to achieve near-universal broadband access by 2030, as outlined in the African Union's Digital Transformation Strategy for Africa 2020-2030. The initiative aims to address the significant digital divide in the region, where a large portion of the population still does not have access to the internet. By providing clear data on connectivity gaps, the project hopes to accelerate investments and foster a more digitally inclusive and economically vibrant continent.
I'm Aisha shehu
Talksocialtalka News
