The Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Prof. Umar Danbatta, on Wednesday said that the commission is mulling over the idea of introducing a framework to encourage ethical energy sourcing in the telecommunications sector.

The chairman disclosed this in a speech at a roundtable with the academia, industry chiefs, and other stakeholders in Kano.

Danbatta said that the framework would serve as a guide for telecom service providers to adopt clean and sustainable energy sources, reducing their carbon footprints and contributing to a greener future.

He expressed the belief that the policy would not only benefit the environment but drive innovation and create new business opportunities in the industry.

The chairman, however, said the objective would require collaboration with the academia and other stakeholder, who are encouraged to contribute through research findings.

Danbatta noted that the commission needed the expertise, knowledge, and insight of the academia and other stakeholders to guide it in developing feasible alternative sources of clean energy that the industry can leverage for a sustainable energy supply.

“We aim to refocus future academic research towards feasible alternative sources of clean energy that can be harnessed by the telecom industry.

“It is essential to identify and explore new technologies, such as solar, wind and biomass that can power our communications infrastructure efficiently and sustainably.

“We need your research to help us understand the potentials of these alternative energy sources, address their challenges and develop strategies for their implementation in the telecom sector,” Danbatta said.

He further said that the sector was at the forefront of digital transformation and that the potential to enhance the livelihood of the citizens must be harnessed by promoting research in the academia.