The West Africa Telecommunications Regulators Meeting (WATRA) has stated it’s engaged on initiatives to facilitate infrastructure sharing amongst West African nations to decrease the price of web for telecom subscribers throughout the area.
Govt Secretary of the physique, Mr. Aliyu Aboki, disclosed this throughout a digital assembly with stakeholders on the weekend. In accordance with him, infrastructure comparable to gateways, and knowledge centres are amenities that could possibly be shared by nations within the area.
Admitting that the price of web throughout West African nations continues to be excessive, Aboki stated a decrease value of web entry would improve the digital financial system for the respective nations within the area and improve the consumption of knowledge by the residents, which in flip generate extra income for the telecom operators.
“We’re exploring regional initiatives to share infrastructure and scale back value. For instance, now we have infrastructures like gateways, knowledge heart servers, and so forth. These are infrastructures that may be shared and utilized by totally different nations with out essentially having everybody constructing the identical infrastructure.
So, we’re collectively taking a look at these wealthy regional initiatives that allow us to share infrastructure to deliver down the price of Web finally,” Aboki said.
Interconnecting West Africa
Figuring out lack of interconnectivity as one other issue driving up the price of telecom providers within the sub-region, the WATRA Govt Secretary lamented that presently, for content material hosted in a single African nation to be accessed in one other African nation, it has to first undergo Europe.
He stated that is occurring as a result of knowledge facilities within the area should not linked immediately, an element that’s making web entry costlier for the customers.
Whereas noting that one of many crucial applications of WATRA is to encourage the interconnectivity of the respective nations, Aboki stated:
We now have knowledge facilities bobbing up in numerous nations, however to interconnect to those knowledge facilities, we have to undergo submarine cables to Europe and the Western nations and again to Africa, simply to interconnect.
This creates further value. Now, as soon as we are able to interconnect inside our areas throughout boundaries, we will definitely drive down prices.
Along with that, he stated the group can be working with nations and nationwide regulators in respective West African nations to enhance their common service insurance policies to spice up rural connectivity.
Digital financial system development
Highlighting the impacts of web connectivity on the sub-region financial system, Aboki famous that growing web penetration, cell connectivity, and a tech-savvy youth inhabitants have led to speedy development in West Africa’s digital financial system.
He disclosed that the digital financial system presently contributes round $30 billion yearly to the area’s GDP. In accordance with him, the West African telecommunications market is now valued at $63.17 billion with over 400 million cell subscribers.
What it is best to know
WATRA was established in 2002 because of the necessity for a standard platform for the telecommunications and ICT regulators within the West African area to change data, share finest practices, and coordinate their actions.
- The group performs an vital function in harmonizing the regulatory framework and insurance policies for telecommunications and ICT within the area.
- WATRA develops and implements the West African Frequent Regulatory Framework for Telecommunications and ICT, which supplies pointers and rules for the regulation of the sector within the area.
- WATRA additionally coordinates and harmonizes the nationwide insurance policies and rules of the member states to make sure consistency and compatibility within the area.
