As the October 18 date for the 3rd edition of the West African ICT Congress WAFICT) gets closer, key speakers have confirmed their attendance, validating the organiser’s promise of a robust intellectual gathering to chart the course of growth for the sub-region’s ICT industry. Interestingly, the Communication Technology Minister, Mrs. Omobola Johnson is set to lead discussions on solutions to broadband challenges in West Africa at the Congress.

Joining the Minister is His Excellency Mahesh Sachdev, Indian High Commissioner to Nigeria and industry big wigs such as the Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Dr. Eugene Juwah; Chief Executive Officer, Airtel Nigeria, Mr. Rajan Swaroop; Chief Executive Officer, MTN Nigeria, Mr. Brett Goschen; Chief Executive Officer, Visafone, Mr Sailesh Iyer and Chief Executive Officer, Phase 3 Telecom, Mr. Stanley Jegede.

Others include Group Chief Operating Officer, Globacom, Mr. Mohamed Jameel; Chief Executive Officer, Ericsson Nigeria, Mr. Gary Dewing and Chief Executive Officer, Computer Warehouse Group, Austin Okere; Rex Mafiana, Country Manager, Netapp; Mr. Logan Pather, CEO, Starcomms; Mr. Gerald Ilukwe, Managing Director, Galaxy Backbone Plc; Dr. Umaru Bindir, Director General, National Office for Technology Acquisitions and Promotions and others have confirmed their availability for the Congress.

From outside the shores of the country are Ghana’s Communications Minister, Hon. Haruna Iddrisu; the Director-General of Ghana’s National Communications Authority (NCA), Mr. Paarock Vanpercy, including the Executive Secretary of the West African Telecommunications Regulators Assembly, Mr. Nnamdi Nwokike, who are all set to use the WAFICT Congress to push for broadband development in the sub region.

WAFICT Congress is being organised by Africa’s foremost ICT magazine, IT & Telecom Digest, in conjunction with the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation (CTO). The Congress will open new ICT frontiers for West Africa with the theme “An Emerging New Frontier: Opportunities and Potentials for Deployment of Broadband Services for Sustainable Growth in West Africa.”

According to the organisers, the third edition of the WAFICT Congress 2011 is designed to expose the sub-region to the many challenges that must be surmounted if the sub-region is to enjoy the full benefits of a robust policy direction, firm and transparent regulatory environment and technology acceptability in line with changing global trends.

The Congress, which will hold at the New Expo Hall of Eko Hotel and Suites Lagos between October 18 and 20, has been attracting national and international endorsements.

Speakers and participants from within West Africa and beyond are expected to grace the event, while leading ICT ministers across the sub-region are also on the line-up of attendees. Participants for the conference will be drawn from operating ICT and telecom companies, GSM and CDMA operators, the banking sector, the legal profession, the oil and gas sector, government agencies, regulatory bodies, consumer advocacy groups, the academia, value added service providers and Internet Service Providers, among others.

Already, corporate organisations such as Airtel Nigeria, Visafone Communications and Phase 3 Telecom among others have thrown their weights behind the Congress as Sponsors, while many others have been indicating interest to participate in one way or the other.

Recall that the former Minister of Information and Communications, Honourable Labaran Maku, now Minister of Information, had earlier issued a formal letter endorsing the WAFICT Congress as the platform to celebration the Nigerian telecom revolution, and urged mobile companies, ISPs, government agencies and establishments, telecom operators as well as all other stakeholders, to support the events and join the ministry in giving a voice to Nigeria’s achievements in telecom.

“WAFICT is set to open new horizons, introduce new technologies and provide greater insights for governments and regulators in the sub-region to benefit from new trends and potentials in the technological arena,” said Mr. Mkpe Abang, Editor-in-Chief of IT & Telecom Digest.