Following the conclusion of its Access Gap study, the USPF has launched 207 clusters representing areas in Nigeria where telecommunication services have not covered or poorly covered.
At a well-attended Industry Stakeholder Forum organised in Lagos, the Chairman of the USP Board and Minister of Communication Technology, Dr. (Mrs) Omobola Johnson explained that the clusters were the result of a study carried out to identify underserved and unserved areas in order to assist the USPF fulfil its statutory mandate of stimulating the deployment and utilization of ICT services in those areas and achieve the goals set in the Strategic Management Plan 2013 - 2017.
Dr. (Mrs) Johnson disclosed that the Clusters of ICT Gap serves as a tool to appropriately design and deploy ICT interventions to the target communities and groups. She expressed optimism that the mapping of the 207 clusters spread across the six geopolitical zones of Nigeria will help to further forge a shared understanding between the USPF and Telecom Operators about what to do and what the roles are in accomplishing the objectives.
Mr. Abdullahi Maikano, the Secretary, revealed that the USPF’s Access Gap Study is the first of its kind in Sub-Saharan Africa and provides a platform for applying knowledge and innovation in the planning and implementing of Universal Access S projects.
Excitement would best describe the feeling of Industry Stakeholders who enthused that the novel initiative was a welcome development for the telecoms industry in Nigeria. In the words of a stakeholder …”the portal demonstration was very instructive, and makes it a lot easier to understand, graphically, the broadband access gap, internet penetration and the financial projections for closing those identified gaps. I particularly appreciate the fact that the user can drill down to more granular details, and have a better understanding of the activities of USPF. This is another win for USPF, and for Nigeria. We look forward to working closely with USPF in its drive to improve rural Broadband Internet services to the unserved and under severed territories in Nigeria”.