Owner of American Space Company, Space Exploration Technologies, Elon Musk, has declared a move to operate Starlink Statelite internet in Nigeria.
The company had already entered into advanced discussions with the Nigerian Communications Commissions (NCC) to ensure the move cascades into a successful technology transfer projects.
Starlink’s Market Access Director for Africa, Ryan Goodnight alongside Space X consultant, Levin Born, paid a visit to NCC, where they expressed interest to obtain a license to operate the satellite internet in the country.
Elon Musk, had identified Nigeria as a critical market in Africa, and want to invest in the country. The company was said to be in the process of launching a low earth orbiting constellation or satelities to provide low latency, high band widths, internet to all corners of the world.
It was gathered that prior to the visit, the regulator and the space company have been discussing the issue, virtually, before an approval for a physical meeting was granted by the NCC.
After Space X representatives provided an overview of its plans, expectations, licensing request, and deployment phases, the Executive vice chairman of NCC, Prof Umar Danbatta, represented by the Executive Commissioner, Technical Services, NCC, Ubale Maska, promised them that the NCC, would work on necessary modalities, in order to protect all industry stakeholders.
Maska said: “As the regulator of a highly dynamic sector in Nigeria, the commission is conscious of the need to ensure that our regulatory actions are anchored on national interest. We have listened to your presentation and we will interview it vis-a-vis, our regulatory direction of ensuring effective and a sustainable telecoms ecosystem where a licensee’s operational model does not dampen healthy competition among other licenses “, Maska told the Space X delegation.
Maska, also said that the Commission is interested in making necessary regulatory efforts to drive the coverage of rural, unserved and undeserved areas of the country through the accomplishments of the targets contained in the Nigeria National Broad Band Plan NNBP.
He further stated, that a target of 70 percent broad band penetration, was planned; covering 90 percent of the population by 2025.
Also, this was said to be in line with government expectations in the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy, NDEPS, 2010-2030.
Ijeoma Njoku reporting, Obinwannem News
