Etisalat advocates standardization at CTO forum’13

DigitalSENSE Business News:

Etisalat Nigeria has advocated standardization of the industry obtainable through cooperation across stakeholders, according to Director, Regulatory and Government Affairs, Mr. Ibrahim Dikko, at the 11^th Annual Commonwealth Telecommunications Organization (CTO) Forum held at Transcorp Hilton in Abuja recently.

The Forum with the theme, ‘Innovation Through Broadband’, was organized by the CTO in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Communication Technology and co-sponsored by Etisalat.

The week-long forum served as a hub of communication technology experts from Nigeria, other commonwealth African nations as well as their international counterparts who deliberated on critical issues bordering on the deployment of a broadband strategy and policy for Nigeria.

DigitalSENSE Business News reports that during the panel discussion which was facilitated by Dikko, it was established that broadband is indeed a game changer, hence its policy should be implemented in every country. Knowledge-share, as an enabler for broadband deployment, was also acknowledged as a key tool to drive the implementation of laws and regulation in each Commonwealth country.

Speaking further, Dikko highlighted the need for partnerships which will drive new laws and regulations regionally that will spur overall development. “Partnerships within the industry can be more effective if operators place customers at the fore of these discussions and strive to influence regulations or policies that will increase broadband availability and accessibility,” he said. In addition, he said, the CTO along with the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) can help the industry by setting the  right kind of standards.

He disclosed that Etisalat has always focused on customer-centricity to endear itself to its subscribers in Nigeria. “The level of growth we have experienced at Etisalat is traceable to our customer-centric and innovative approach to business,” he said.

DigitalSENSE Business News recalls that Minister for Communication Technology, Mrs. Omobola Johnson in her speech, said that global internet penetration rates have continued to increase, with almost 40 per cent of the world’s population now online. Noting, this number is fewer in developing countries than in more industrialized ones.

Even as the Federal Government was delighted to have hosted this year’s CTO Forum and Council meeting as one of the priorities of the forum was to assess the different stages of broadband development and discover best practice strategies for moving forward.

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Pix: (L-R): Director, Government and Regulatory Affairs, Etisalat Nigeria, Ibrahim Dikko;  Director, Policy and Competition in charge of International Affairs of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Lolia Emakpore; and the Honorable Minister of Communication Technology, Omobola Johnson at the 11th Annual Commonwealth Telecommunications Organization (CTO) Forum sponsored by Etisalat, held at Transcorp Hilton in Abuja....recently.