Digital, ICT innovation, catalyst for economic, social growth, says BuddeCom study

It has become very clear that innovation related to ICT and digital technologies is one of the key components for future economic and social
strength, a study has shown.

The study which was carried out by BuddeCom, a telecom research organisation, found that “countries with a sophisticated fixed and
mobile telecoms infrastructure are well placed to take advantage of these future technological and societal developments.”

The study, however, noted that countries without the necessary infrastructure are expected to lag behind, especially once innovations around the Internet of Everything, M2M, and Big Data gather pace.

“We are already seeing the beginnings of sophisticated Smart Cities emerge in some parts of the world,” authors of the research report state.

The Internet of Everything (IoE) is a concept that extends the Internet of Things (IoT) emphasis on machine-to-machine (M2M) communications to describe a more complex system that also encompasses people and processes.

Asia makes a strong claim to be leading the world when it comes to the general development of broadband internet. While mobile broadband is already a large and fast-growing segment of the region’s internet market, fixed broadband continues to underpin the delivery of internet services to households and businesses. Fiber-based fixed broadband services have taken on a major significance and are shaping up to define the broadband market of the future.

If this study is anything to go by, Africa and indeed Nigeria is expected to work at strengthening its two-wing(fixed and mobile)telecom sector by aggressively addressing the infrastructural challenges within the sector as this surely will provide a springboard for economic growth and development.