Nigeria plans to invest 265-billion naira ($732-million) in broadband infrastructure over the next four years as the government sets its sights on nationwide coverage and to boost an economy recovering from a 2016 contraction.<\/p>\n
The government will provide 65-billion naira for the project and six private infrastructure companies the balance under a public-private partnership, according to Umar Danbatta, the CEO of the Nigerian Communications Commission.<\/p>\n
The government of Africa\u2019s biggest producer of crude oil wants to increase connectivity for the nation\u2019s almost 200-million people as part of a drive to boost business and help diversify the economy away from the commodity.<\/p>\n
The West African nation plans to roll out an additional 30 000 km of fibre across its 774 local governments, taking the total to 71 000 km by 2024, Danbatta said in a telephone interview from the nation\u2019s capital, Abuja. The penetration rate could rise to 65% from 38%, he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Nigeria plans to invest 265-billion naira ($732-million) in broadband infrastructure over the next four years as the government sets its sights on nationwide coverage and to boost an economy recovering from a 2016 contraction. The government will provide 65-billion naira for the project and six private infrastructure companies the balance under a public-private partnership, according […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":62,"featured_media":19985,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,15],"tags":[1108,1114],"class_list":{"0":"post-19981","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"hentry","7":"category-all-news","8":"category-economy","10":"tag-government-house"},"yoast_head":"\n