Nigeria Internet Group Conference
Venue: Golden Gate, Ikoyi, Lagos on Thursday, 27 August, 2015
Internet Penetration
&
Sustainable Development:
Issues & Perspectives
Jide Awe
Managing Consultant, Jidaw Systems
The Why of Internet Penetration
Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) have grown in an
unprecedented way, The Internet is critical to that growth. Internet
penetration indicates the percentage of Internet users in a country
Enables more to gain
access to opportunities
and benefits of IT
most transformative
innovation of the
recent past
rapid adoption of
mobile phones has led
to mobile innovations
Global village, Global villagers
Global reach, 24x7 availability
Cuts down barrier of distance
Enables the harnessing of ICTs
potentials
Deepens the impact and
capabilities of ICT
Facilitates Innovation diffusion
Changed the way people and
organizations learn, interact,
communicate and do business
Has grown and diffused rapidly across
the globe, bringing significant benefits
to economies and societies
There are two equalizers in life: the Internet and
education – John Chambers, Fmr CEO, Cisco
2
Internet Penetration: Nature & Quality
User experience - ability to access, availability, reliability, speed of access?
multiple ways of connecting to the internet,
such as Dial-up and Broadband.
broadband commonly refers to
high-speed Internet access that is
always on and faster than the
traditional dial-up access - FCC
Historically from batch, dial up, leased lines,
satellite, access through cybercafés, wireless,
“broadband within the Nigerian
fibre, mobile broadband
context is defined as an internet
World Wide Wait?
experience where the user can access
the most demanding content in real
driving force behind ICT and Internet
time at a minimum speed of 1.5
growth in Nigeria and many other African
Mbit/s” - NBP.
countries - is the mobile phone. Majority
access the web via their phones
BB DSL, Satellite, fibre, WiMAX , LTE
10% increase in broadband access correlates to 1.35% increase in
GDP growth. 10% in mobile penetration can bring 4% increase in
productivity. - Internet development and Internet governance in
Africa, The Internet Society, May 2015
But the benefits of the Internet are not yet evenly distributed
3
What is Sustainable in Development?
"Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the
present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet
their own needs.” Brundtland Report ”Our Common Future” (1987)
Balancing of human
and social
development goals
Socially sustainable
development meets basic needs
for food, shelter,
education, work,
income and safe
living and working
conditions, fosters
inclusion, social
harmony, culture
and development
of human potential
for all
Social/Community
a world of conflicting needs
Sustainable
Development
Environment
Economy
Environmental sustainability - ability to
maintain the physical environment - human life,
capabilities required to maintain the natural
environment, aspects of the environment that
produce renewable resources
Economic
sustainability
helps to create
jobs and reduce
poverty. Builds a
strategic
environment that
enables steady
organic growth,
long term
economic viability
(cover costs,
generate surplus,
opportunities for
development)
Sustainable Development Goals
2015 marks the end of the Millennium Development Goals and the start of the
Sustainable Development Goals. The United Nations summit for the adoption of the
post-2015 development agenda will be held from 25 to 27 September 2015.
Internet Penetration for SD
Internet is Smart Sustainable Development Infrastructure & Enabler
Better, cleaner,
cheaper and
smarter
approaches to
business,
governance,
development
needed
Intense economic competition, feeding a
growing population, keeping children healthy,
unequal access to scarce natural resources,
rising unemployment and environmental
challenges have made innovation critical for
sustainable development
Falling oil prices, yet who
benefits from oil wealth?
Environmental concerns
As a finite, non renewable
resource, oil dependence is
unsustainable
Innovation is required for all SD dimensions and Internet
Penetration is the essential inclusion vehicle. How many
physical classrooms can you build?
Innovation
is only
innovation Smart villages not just Smart cities are key to long term sustainability
Internet economy of new jobs and new income generation (Reduces fuel,
if it is
sustainable consumption, rural-urban migration, paperless, energy efficient)
Internet penetration for Sustainable Development is however not automatic
Current positions…
Internet is the Smart Sustainable Development Infrastructure & Enabler
Fastest growing Telecom market
Mobile phone penetration and
growth rate has helped significantly
GSM active Internet subscriptions at
92,699,924 in June 2015
Mobile in 13(per 100 people) in 2005 78 (per
100 people) in 2014 -ITU
Subscribers 400,000 in 2001 to 148.7m in
June 2015 -NCC
Internet Users 4 (per 100 people) in 2005 to
43 (per 100 people) in 2014 – ITU
From an investment of about N500 million in
2001, the industry has grown tremendously
recording over $32 billion from FDI as at the
end of July 2014
Transformative impact on the
economy and society
Growth of an ecosystem of entrepreneurs,
creating jobs for Nigerians. Building cashless,
e-commerce, online shops, rise of social
media consumption, development of mobile
apps and bloggers, e-newspapers, startups, epayment, online advertising
Challenges…
Various obstacles affecting Internet Economy & Sustainable Development
Societal Divides
Beyond
the
urban-rich,
Rural,
the
disadvantaged are outside the digital and
internet loop and are unable to reap the
economic benefits of Internet
Low e-commerce, digital literacy, youth
capacity building in rural areas
Low visibility for Sustainable
Development matters
Low awareness of sustainable development
issues. Not mainstreamed into national plans
Service and Broadband concerns
Quality of service issues, expensive Internet
access. Power supply, Broadband penetration
only rose from 6 per cent in 2013 to 10 per
cent in June, 2015 – NCC, FMCT
Nigeria lags behind several African
countries in ICT growth
Ranking 133rd in the International
Telecommunications
Union
(ITU)
ICT
Development Index (IDI) 2014 report
The National Broadband Plan (NBP)
Bridge the Country's broadband infrastructure gap and launch it towards
achieving its broadband penetration targets: from 6% to 30% by 2018
Focus Areas
Enabling Nationwide Broadband Infrastructure
through a mix of Fibre Optic and wireless Broadband
Networks - seven commercial infrastructure companies
(Infracos) will roll out fibre optic networks
Incentives to encourage network development and
infrastructure sharing in rural areas, through subsidies
and public private partnerships, Universal Service Fund
subsidies
Draft Critical National Infrastructure Protection Act
Clear Policies and address multiple taxation and
regulation - “Smart State” Initiative in partnership with
state governments
Drive Demand through Digital Advocacy, Literacy and
Inclusion
Optimise Spectrum Allocation –Reallocation strategy
to drive the effective utilization of spectra
Aims to minimize unnecessary
environmental impact and
explore
Opportunities
for
Broadband in Smart Grid and
Environment
Way Forward - Environmental
Ensure
implementation of
recommendations
on Environmental
practices in the
NBP
Use ICT to promote sustainable
development concepts and practices
especially social and environmental
sustainability
Celebrate ICT and Environment
champions with outstanding impact
Green IT advocacy - using
computers and IT
resources in a more
efficient and
environmentally
responsible way. Reduce
waste, save money
Energy, Papers, obsolete
tech, reduce power
consumption
Way Forward - Economic
IT penetration in
the rural areas –
promote digital
literacy and tech
specialist skills
development as
well as the
development of
relevant IT tools
that address local
needs. Local
language content
Put IT security measures in place, pay
attention to Child Online Protection
Cybercrime law should be implemented
and the Critical Infrastructure bill
should be enacted into law
Incentives as stated in
NBP should be used to
attract funding,
investment and ICT
players to invest in the
rural areas
Smart villages leverage latest
ICT capabilities
iDEA
(Information
Technology
Developers
Entrepreneurship
Accelerator) centers should be setup
to
foster and support IT youth
entrepreneurship in the rural areas
Way Forward - Social
Better
understanding
and
appreciation of
sustainable
development is
required at all
levels
Address the
gender gap with
initiatives that
ensure women are
not left behind
Adopt Multistakeholder
approach in generating
innovation and working
towards sustainable
development
Mobile has a major
role to play.
Inexpensive mobile
phones
Gather data and
statistics to
measure progress
****
Enthronement
of merit – go
against
nepotism,
corruption, etc
NBP: Strong commitment required from highest levels of Federal
and State governments
Continuous stakeholder engagement required
Strong monitoring, evaluation and reporting on targets and
recommending/implementing corrective action, where required
Mainstreaming of sustainable development issues
Conclusion
Sustainable Development Goal 9: Build resilient infrastructure, promote
inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation
**** No matter how well defined targets on their own will not result in the desired
levels of Internet penetration and sustainable development.
**** Internet Penetration and Sustainable development challenges are huge but
there are also significant opportunities
“Despite the progress seen in several developing countries, there remains huge
untapped potential in the 4 billion people not yet online in the developing world”. ITU 2014 IDI Report. Too many people are offline.
**** Investment in Internet penetration is fundamental to supporting ICT uptake and
innovation. Just as it is essential for achieving sustainable development
**** There are no silver bullets. Focus on substance is required
**** Fresh, Innovative thinking supported by well thought through policies is needed
not just for Internet Penetration but in all spheres
Sustainable development is about cleaner, smarter and long term development
and is the only way forward for a growing economy
Thank You
Jide Awe