The Federal Government has launched the Equiano additional undersea Cable System in Lagos to reduce the cost of telecom data and the affordability of Internet services.

At the launch of the facility in Lagos, the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Professor Isa Ali Pantami commended the investors for bringing additional bandwidth capacity into the country to drive connectivity and growth.

Represented by a Stakeholder Commissioner in the Nigeria Communication Commission, Mr Adeleke Adewolu, Professor Pantami said the Federal Government will continue to drive the implementation of existing digital economy-oriented policies put in place by the current administration and promised an enabling environment for local and foreign investments in telecom services.

The Executive Vice Chairman of the NCC, Professor Garba Danbatta represented by Director, Technical Services Mallam Ubale Maska promised to drive policy initiatives to promote investment in infrastructure in the Nigerian telecom industry.

Professor Danbatta expressed delight that the investor has joined the list of other submarine cables on the shores of Nigeria.

The new cable system, named after a Nigerian hero, Olaudah Equiano, who survived enslavement in the 18th century and went on to become a famous writer and anti-slavery activist will further boost the Nigerian National Broadband Plan 2020-2025 thereby increasing broadband penetration to 70 percent by 2025.