December 09, (THEWILL) – The Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD) on Wednesday said about 114 communities in Nigeria have either weak or no internet connectivity.
Executive Director of the Centre, Yunusa Zakari Yau, who made these known to newsmen in Kaduna on Wednesday, called on the Minister of Communication and Digital Economy, Professor Ibrahim Pantami to set up a mechanism for the National Policy for the Development of Community Networks.
According to him, the issue of excluding some communities is not peculiar to Nigeria alone but insisted that countries like Kenya, South Africa and Mexico, which had similar problems have since addressed the challenges.
“Community networks have failed to take roots in Nigeria because we do not have a national policy to guide their emergence and provide a supportive environment for communities to leverage various opportunities to bridge the connectivity gaps in their community,” he said.
He said having a policy would provide clear rules for interconnectivity, frequency and spectrum, and a host of other related steps.
Yau disclosed that it is sad that despite the successes recorded in telecommunication services, over 100 million Nigerians don’t have access to internet.
“This means that within the country, a population of about 100 million is already behind and excluded from the benefits of the internet,” he added.
