The Katsina State Government has commenced the rollout of fibre optic services to consumers as a measure to expand access to reliable and affordable high-speed internet services across the state.
The government explained that improved digital connectivity would help attract investment, boost business competitiveness, promote innovation and create economic opportunities.
Speaking at a sensitization workshop in Katsina, the Director-General of the Katsina State Investment Promotion Agency (KIPA), Alhaji Ibrahim Tukur Jikamshi, said fibre optic infrastructure was critical tool to attracting investment into the state.
However, the workshop, themed “Creating an Enabling Investment Environment for Fibre Optics Deployment and Connectivity,” brought together telecom operators, internet service providers, regulators, businesses and other stakeholders to deliberate of opportunities involved.
Tukur-Jikamshi said the engagement was aimed at identifying investment opportunities in the fibre optic value chain, particularly last-mile connectivity across the state’s 34 local government areas, adding that the state government had invested in fibre infrastructure but was now focused on ensuring that it translates into affordable internet services for businesses, institutions and households.
“The real measure of our progress will not simply be the kilometres of fibre deployed. It will be how many businesses, homes and institutions that infrastructure ultimately connects and the economic opportunities these connections create,” he revealed.
Declaring the workshop open, Katsina state deputy governor, Faruk Lawal Jobe, said the state government has made a huge investment in ensuring that optic fibre”s opportunities have been actively and efficiently explored, promising that the state government would continue to support the drive for a better economic development.
