Prof. Isa Ibrahim Pantami, Nigeria’s Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, on Thursday in Lagos said Nigeria’s telecom regulatory framework has been created to manage any potential problems brought on by the development of the Internet of Things (IoT).
Pantami, who spoke at the simultaneous Stakeholders Consultative Forum on Regulatory Roadmap for IoT Ecosystem in Nigeria and presentation of two books written by the Minister, claimed that Nigeria has already demonstrated its readiness to capitalize on the potentials of this new service, as demonstrated in the reduction in incidences of cybercrimes in Nigeria over the past two years.
As the International Data Cooperation (IDC) reported, “By 2025, there will be approximately 46.1 billion IoT devices that are going to be interconnected globally…,” Pantami stressed the necessity of the consultations and brainstorming sessions being held for IoT, and using this connection, up to 79.4 zeta bytes of data will be created.
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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, Pantami said IoT is crucial to present-day emergent technologies considering its connectedness to devices in facilitating productivity, minimize waste as well as ensure a faster decision-making process where a massive amount of data can be analyzed and presented for decision making.
Earlier in an address of welcome, the Executive Vice Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of the NCC, Prof. Umar Danbatta, explained that, in the process of undertaking its responsibility of regulation, the 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.
Danbatta said this 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 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 Pantami’s second book titled: ‘Cybersecurity: Initiatives for Securing a Country’, Prof. Mike Hinchey of the University of Limerik, Ireland, who doubled as keynote speaker at the event, commended the Minister, stating 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.
In a panel discussion, featuring experts from various sectors of the ICT industry, the challenges and prospects of IoT within the Nigerian telecom ecosystem were reviewed, to prepare the country for the future application of IoT products and services.