TheCable

Facebook, a social networking platform, is seeking partnership opportunities with the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to improve connectivity.

Ibrahim Ba led a delegation from the company to a conference at the NCC on Thursday.

Ba said there’s a need for further infrastructure expansion in Nigeria to fill the connectivity gap that still exists in the country.

He said Facebook has started two connectivity projects in Edo and Ogun involving 800 kilometres of fibre connecting institutions and operators towers.

Reiterating Nigeria’s importance to its services in Africa, Ba said good infrastructure is the bedrock of Facebook and WhatsApp, and Instagram’s “robust connectivity”.

According to him, partnership opportunities with the NCC would birth more kilometres of infrastructure expansion in fibre connectivity and increase its ease of doing business in the country.

Edoyemi Ogoh, NCC’s deputy director of technical standards and network integrity, assured the delegation of NCC’s commitment to aid the expansion of telecom services in the country.

He said NCC’s stance is signalled in its adoption of the open-access model (OAM) and the licensing of infrastructure companies (Infracos) to cascade fibre to the hinterland of Nigeria.

Citing NCC’s recent meetings with Isa Pantami, the minister of communication and digital economy, he also said the commission is finalising processes to institute the ‘Dig Once Policy’.

This, he said, will encourage operators and other key players in infrastructure to have greater strategic collaboration in the laying of fibre ⁠— especially in the context of the upcoming 2020-2025 national broadband plan.