INTERNET
By Lukas Ajanaku, Lagos, Nigeria
The Nigerian internet community has commenced plans to gather information on the history of the internet in the country.
Aiming to collate an overview of how the internet industry in Nigeria has evolved, team project lead Titilayo Akinsanmi-Bolarinwa said that the project, which started on March 22, would last till April 22, 2012 in the first phase with respondents sending feedback to [email protected].
She said that the project would run in three phases. The timelines for the next two phases have yet to be decided.
The project, she pointed out, would involve development of work plans with assigned tasks across phases and by identifying specific recipients to write for each sector as well as development of questionnaires.
Additionally, Bolarinwa said the project would encompass public announcements on the subject, collation and editing of responses, publishing of the draft and a comments period.
The project team includes the Nigeria Internet Registration Association (NIRA), National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), and Minister of Communications Technology, academia, private sector, media, civil society groups and individual end-users.
While promising that contact details would be kept very confidential, she said respondents would be expected to add the organisation, affiliations they represent and perspectives on the Internet in Nigeria.
“Please share any facts, milestones personalities or events that pertain to the growth of the Internet in Nigeria,” she solicited, urging that respondents include references for the information provided, which could come inform of web links, documents and or publications.
Bolarinwa said: “This is part of a wider strategy to further strengthen and entrench a cohesive and united voice for Nigeria in the local, regional and International Internet ecosystem as proposed and agreed by the Nigeria attendees meeting at ICANN 43 in San Jose, Costa Rica.”
The objective, she said is to capture the ‘story’ of the entrance of the Internet and its development and roll-out in Nigeria from the perspective of all stakeholders: government, private, civil society groups as well as those of key end users in the country.
On the strategy, the project team lead said it is to capture in this first round a general background of how the Internet ecosystem and its use evolved in Nigeria.
“The next series would then delve deeper into specific experiences and then to sub-regional status. It will seek to capture the experiences, penetration, adoption patterns and technology growth amongst others,” she assured.
The outcome, she said, would be a series of online and print publications that would be made publicly available across Nigeria, as well as events attended locally and internationally.
