Maraphone, a mobile phone manufacturing company, says it is exploring the possibility of establishing manufacturing plant in Nigeria for the production of affordable smartphones.
The Chief Executive Officer, Maraphone, Ashish Thakkar made this known in a statement on Wednesday in Abuja, when he paid a courtesy visit to the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Abuja.
Thakkar said that the vision of the commission for broadband expansion and the manufacturing of telecommunications devices in Nigeria was impressive.
He said that the positive interaction with the NCC had made Maraphone more excited about the prospects of its planned project in Nigeria.
”This visit has been very fruitful and I am extremely impressed with the depth and breath of what NCC is doing, the true impact that they are creating and the vision that they have for broadband deployment.
”We are very excited to play our little role in helping this vision come to life,” the Maraphone CEO said.
Reacting, the Executive Vice Chairman, NCC, Prof. Umar Danbatta said that the telecommunications industry in Nigeria needed to go further towards manufacturing devices that Nigerians could use to access robust telecoms services.
Danbatta said that the regulatory body was trying to expand broadband connectivity by addressing infrastructure deficit in the country.
He said that the Commission had already licensed six infrastructure companies that would be deploying broadband infrastructure in the country.
Danbatta said that this underscored the commitment of the Nigerian government to the expansion of broadband facilities.
”When the massive capacity in data at the landing point is driven into the hinterland, Nigerians will need affordable smartphones for accessing broadband services.
”This establishes the correlation between the vision of the Commission and that of Maraphone.
”All investors are welcome as the investment space is big and competition helps to bring down prices,” he said. (NAN)
