The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof. Isa Ibrahim Pantami, has assured the nation that Nigeria’s telecom regulatory framework is capable of addressing the challenges that may arise from the advancement of the Internet of Things (IoT) in the country.
Pantami disclosed this while he was speaking at the twin event of the Stakeholders Consultative Forum on Regulatory Roadmap for IoT Ecosystem in Nigeria which was hosted by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC); and the presentation of two books written by him.
However, he declared that Nigeria has already exhibited its preparedness to harness the potential of this new service, as demonstrated in the reduction in incidences of cybercrimes in Nigeria over the past two years.
Even as the International Data Cooperation (IDC) revealed that “By 2025, there will be about 46.1 billion IoT devices interconnected globally and through this connection, the data to be generated will be up to 79.4 zeta bytes.” he added that there is still need for the type of consultations and brainstorming being hosted for IoT.
At the gathering that featured presentations by local and international experts, with the Secretary of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), Houlin Zhao, in virtual participation, the Minister highlighted the importance of IoT to emergent technologies, considering its connectedness to devices in facilitating productivity, minimizing waste as well as facilitating faster decision-making process where the massive amount of data can be analysed and presented for decision making.
Earlier, during the welcome address, the Executive Vice Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of the NCC, Prof. Umar Danbatta, emphasized that, in the process of undertaking its responsibility of regulation, NCC has made it a consistent practice to interact with experts and key players in the industry on how best to facilitate the development of robust regulations for emergent technologies in the country.
According to him, the consultation presents a unique opportunity to appraise the emergence and future deployment of IoT products and services for the benefit of consumers in Nigeria.
In his goodwill message and review of one of the books authored by Prof Pantami titled: ‘Datafication of Society to Foster an Internet Economy’ the ITU scribe, commended Nigeria’s cooperation within the international telecommunications community and how Pantami assisted in the facilitation of programmes of the ITU, including his recent chairmanship of the World Summit on Information Society at the ITU Headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland.
In the review of his second book titled: ‘Cybersecurity: Initiatives for Securing a Country’, Prof. Mike Hinchey of the University of Limerick, Ireland, who doubled as keynote speaker at the event, commended the Minister, as he explained that the book is a bold statement that Africa is no longer waiting on the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) industry side-lines but now creating content for its institutions.
However, experts from various sectors of the ICT industry reviewed the challenges and prospects of IoT within the Nigerian telecom ecosystem to prepare the country for the future application of IoT products and services.