Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), on Wednesday said it has reached an advance stage in the process to introduce national roaming and active Infrastructure sharing policy for telecommunication operators in the country.  .

The policy, when fully introduced and implemented, would tame poor network coverage and put to end rural-urban digital divide in he country, this the commission has said.

The NCC Executive Vice-Chairman, Prof. Umar Danbatta, made this known at the stakeholders’ forum on “Development of Framework for National Roaming and Active Infrastructure Sharing in Nigeria’’ held at Digital Bridge Institute, in Lagos.

According to Danbatta, there are still un-serve and under-serve telecommunication service areas in the country despite success recorded in the sector over the last years.

Represented by the Director, Spectrum Administration, Engr. Austin Nwaulunne, the Executive Vice Chairman of the commission said this has prompted the call for the introduction of national roaming policy with the potential of promoting seamless communication services nationwide..

According to him, subscribers will be able to roam on the network of other service providers where their own service provider is unavailable or has limited network coverage.

“The benefits of encouraging active infrastructure sharing can also not be overemphasised.

“Not only will there be a noticeable reduction in network deployment costs, the industry will also witness acceleration in the take-up of broadband services and gradual elimination of the rural-urban digital divide,’’

Danbatta said that NCC was committed toward ensuring the continued growth and development of the telecoms industry.

He said the industry in 2017 inaugurated an Industry Working Committee (IWC) to work out the procedure and modalities for implementing National Roaming and Active Infrastructure Sharing.

“The past few years have seen the trajectory of the global telecommunications industry shift toward the implementation of cost-saving mechanisms which facilitate the effective utilisation of network resources for the provision of telecommunications services.

“National Roaming and Active Infrastructure Sharing are two of such initiatives which have been successfully utilised to achieve improved coverage, cost reduction and the efficient utilisation of scarce network resources by regulatory agencies.