Nigeria’s telecommunication sector has proven to be one of the biggest gainers amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The sector recorded an 18.10% growth in Q2 2020. This is according to the latest Gross Domestic Product (GDP) report released by the National Bureau of Statistics.
According to the GDP report, the telecommunication sector grew by 18.1% in real terms during the second quarter of 2020, compared to 11.34% recorded in the corresponding quarter of 2019, and 9.71% in the previous quarter (Q1 2020).
The COVID-19 induced lockdown significantly disrupted the Nigerian economy in the second quarter of 2020. However, the telecommunication sector came out resilient, driven by increased demand for data usage and growth in the number of mobile subscribers.
Information and Communication (ICT), as a broad sector, grew by 15.1% and contributed 17.87% to the total value of real GDP (N15.9 trillion) in the quarter.
In Q2 2020, the telecommunication sector grew by 18.1% year-on-year, while it grew by 24.8% quarter-on-quarter. This is the biggest growth the telecom sector would record since Q4 2018, when the telecom sector posted a GDP growth of c.19%.
One of the various regulatory initiatives embarked upon by the leadership of NCC, which has resulted in the impressive aforementioned statistics quoted above is the Strategic Management Plan
The Strategic Management Plan (SMP) 2020-2024 of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) is a catalyst for the implementation of the Federal Government’s Digital Economy.
The SMP 2020-2024 is the visionary document of the NCC, guiding it for the monitoring, planning, analyzing, and assessment of the Commission to reach its goals and set objectives.
The Plan is made up of five success factors identified for the implementation strategy which are: Effective communication; Human Resource Capacity; Ownership and Commitment, Development of and Adherence to a Strategy Development Manual; and Implementation Discipline.
The launching of the SMP by NCC early in the year shows the commission’s seriousness in improving performance matrix and its efforts in accelerating the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS) and the Federal Government’s National Broadband Strategy of 2020-2025.
It will be recalled that the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), in June, 2020, unveiled its new Strategic Management Plan (SMP) 2020-2024 as a pedestal to drive the implementation of the Federal Government’s digital economy vision.
The launch of the SMP demonstrated the Commission’s serious improvement in performance matrix and its efforts in accelerating the implementation of the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS) and the National Broadband Plan (NBP) 2020 – 2025 of the Federal Government.
The SMP, according to Prof. Danbatta, is the fulcrum that will aid the NCC in driving its telecom regulatory mandate in the fast-evolving telecoms industry, in the next five years.
It will also serve as a roadmap for the future of the Nigerian telecoms sector, taking into consideration the current and emerging trends in the industry and the numerous expectations of the diverse stakeholders.
The SMP 2020 – 2024 is the visioning document of the Commission for planning, monitoring, analysing, and assessment of the Commission to meet its goals and set objectives. It has five pillars, which include regulatory excellence, universal broadband, promote development of digital economy, market development; and strategic p
