Key players in Nigeria’s broadband industry and other Information and Telecommunication (ICT) stakeholders will on Thursday, June 6, 2019 gather at the Muson Centre, Onikan, Lagos, for the maiden edition of the National Broadband Conference, one of the activities to mark the 2019 World Telecommunication and Information Society Day (WTISD) Day.

The Conference, which has as theme, “Broadband – Catalyst for Nigeria’s Economic Recovery”, is being organised by News Express Media Group.

A statement issued on Wednesday in Lagos, signed by News Express Publisher Isaac Umunna, described the forthcoming National Broadband Conference as “a one-day but impactful event that shall bring together major stakeholders in the Nigerian sector to discuss and chart fresh courses and for the full implementation of the next National Broadband Plan, among other pressing industry issues.”

Continuing, Umunna said: “Providing practical solutions to questions such as ‘are Internet users really acquiring useful information and gaining digital literacy, or does web surfing for entertainment count as a socially useful activity; what do digital skills look like for the new online economy; are legacy education systems able to adapt to generate the digital skills needed in the digital economy’ with regards to the online services popular among Internet users, are some of the reasons for the reasons for the conference.

“The rapidly growing global digital market and data assets with its transformative potentials of technology are rubbing off positively on Nigeria. The country is certainly drawing benefits of this growing internet of things that is driving changes in businesses and sector-specific manufacturing which is leaving growing inequalities within and between countries that slack.

It is important that Nigeria makes every effort to remain focused and consistently latch onto this Fourth Industrial Revolution where diverse digital players are constantly shifting the focus of modern economies from physical assets to the ability to harvest and utilise information and insight. The need therefore to invest more in Digital infrastructure especially in Broadband to forestall further digital divide in Nigeria as with other third world economies should be a national and even regional priority to governments and peoples.

“Going by the achievements of the last National Broadband Plan that exceeded the 30% penetration target, and hoping that the next plan and execution will ensure further penetration into the under-served areas and more crucially also to the unserved areas of Nigeria, with full application of 5GLITE in focus, Nigeria is surely headed to the tops in ICT.”

The statement described the National Broadband Conference as part of efforts by News Express towards ensuring that Nigeria remains alert on the internet of things highway – the first being the acclaimed Nigerian Online Merit Award (NiOMA).

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