Telecom
Nigerian Telcos to Add 45m New Lines by 2017-Business Monitor
After a wave of regulatory penalties, including fines and a ban on promotions, Nigeria’s mobile operators have announced plans to expand and upgrade their networks to cope with strong subscriptions growth and increasing data usage.
Business Monitor, the leading, independent provider of proprietary data, analysis, ratings, rankings and forecasts covering 195 countries and 24 industry sectors, expects this trend to continue over the medium term as the market is forecast to add around 45mn new subscribers in the five years to 2017.
Meanwhile, consolidation and, subsequently, transition to LTE technology appears to be a growing trend among tier two telecoms service providers in Nigeria.
Business Monitor sees this as a positive development as, through consolidation, tier-two operators are able to gain scale for bigger network deployments while the transition to LTE should enable them to compete better with 3G HSPA+ offerings from the GSM operators.
Some of the key data
Mobile subscription growth slowed to 2.7% quarter-on-quarter (q-o-q) in Q213 due to the large net loss reported by third largest operator Airtel.
Mobile ARPU decline accelerated in Q213 due to the impact of cuts to mobile termination rates in April 2013, with market leader MTN’s ARPU down 22.6% year-on-year (y-o-y).
The fixed-line sector contracted by 5.7% in Q113 and 27.6% in the 12 months to June 2013.
In recent months the regulator, the NCC has implemented several regulatory measures expected to benefit consumers in the mobile market including mobile number portability, SIM registration and quality of service requirements. Most recently, in April 2013 cuts to mobile termination rates were implemented, which should reduce the cost of voice services, particularly off-net calls.
Meanwhile, in May 2013 the NCC published the National Broadband Plan, 2013 – 2018, which is a framework for a five-fold increase in broadband penetration by 2017. As part of the plan, in July 2013, Phase3 Telecom partnered with the NCC to extend its fibre infrastructure to rural communities as part of the government’s Backbone Transmission Infrastructure Project. The project, delivered under the Universal Service Provision Fund, will roll out 10,000km of fibre backbone infrastructure to all local government areas of Nigeria.
The broadband market is set to receive an injection of competition as Main One Cable Company transitioned to become a fully-fledged communications services provider, including rebranding to become Main One, in May 2013.
The Nigerian company intends to broaden its services from the wholesale of broadband connectivity to a suite of data centre and connectivity services throughout West and sub-Saharan Africa. It is building a metro Ethernet network to offer more than 200km of fibre optic access through Lagos’ business districts and a 2.5MW, 600 rack data centre to be completed by March 2014.
The company is also expanding its terrestrial fibre optic network, establishing points of presence in Abuja and Port Harcourt.
Spacecoin, US-based, has announced the signing of recent agreements with local authorities and operators to launch satellite connectivity pilot projects in Africa.
The initiatives, focused on Kenya and Nigeria, aim to serve areas where terrestrial networks remain limited or unavailable.
n Kenya, Spacecoin has obtained a transmission license from the Communications Authority, allowing it to test satellite-based solutions for connectivity and Internet of Things (IoT) monitoring, particularly in rural and peri-urban areas with limited internet access.
According to the Kenyan regulator, internet penetration remains below 50% of the population, despite mobile penetration exceeding 130%.
In parallel, the company is continuing operations in Nigeria under an existing license issued by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).
This authorization supports initiatives aimed at delivering affordable broadband connectivity to isolated and underserved communities.
Spacecoin’s approach is based on a decentralized satellite network using nanosatellites in low Earth orbit (LEO).
Combined with blockchain-based protocols, this architecture is intended to offer more flexible and cost-effective connectivity services than traditional networks, while also enabling the integration of IoT solutions for a range of uses, from smart agriculture to infrastructure monitoring.
These projects are part of a broader strategy to help narrow Africa’s digital divide, where a significant share of the population still lacks access to reliable internet services.
Satellite technology is increasingly viewed as a complement to terrestrial infrastructure, particularly in hard-to-reach areas where deployment costs and geographic constraints remain high.
Beyond Africa, Spacecoin is also running pilot projects in Asia, working with local partners to test the viability of its model across different regulatory and geographic environments.
According to the company’s management, growing interest from regulators reflects a shift toward solutions capable of reaching populations that have long been excluded from internet access.
AVEVA, a global leader in industrial software, driving digital transformation and sustainability, today announces the appointment of Khaled Salah, 37 years old, as Vice President of Africa.
Khaled Salah
In this new role, he will be responsible for about 30 employees to ensure the successful implementation of AVEVA’s growth strategy. Khaled Salah will report directly to Jesus Hernandez, SVP of the EMEA region.
A 15-years + career across different industries and domains
With a MBA in management from the Warwick business school, UK, and a master’s degree in engineering from Ain Shams university in Egypt, Khaled Salah is an active advocate for driving sustainable progress in the industrial sector. With Sustainability in mind, Khaled is keen on making a positive business impact, while fostering progress for people and the planet.
He started his career at Schneider Electric, in 2013 in the global supply chain and evolved through various roles such as Europe procurement and supply chain strategy Manager, and Global Commercial strategy Director for the industrial automation business. Khaled Salah has developed a strategic understanding of all those fields.
After 12 years in Schneider Electric, Khaled joined AVEVA in 2022 to lead AVEVA and Schneider Electric global strategic partnership, across all industries managing a team of 30 people.
He has led the introduction of new AVEVA software solutions to initiate and develop significant growth areas across all Schneider Electric verticals.
Ambitious plans for AVEVA in Africa
In addition to his current role as AVEVA and Schneider Electric partnership Vice-President, Khaled now takes over the management of AVEVA’s activities in Africa.
Jesus Hernandez, SVP of the EMEA region says: “Africa is a strategic region for AVEVA. In this major industrial market, customers, world leaders in the fields of Energy, Metal & Mining, Chemicals, and Water, are looking for AVEVA’s expertise to accelerate and drive their digital transformation and sustainability strategies, as well as their energy transition projects.
“Khaled Salah’s qualities of leadership in a global environment will benefit his team spread across 12 countries including Algeria, Morocco, Egypt, Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa.”
Motivated by the prospect of capitalizing on the talent of his team to strengthen AVEVA’s presence in Africa in the years to come, Khaled Salah says: “Helping my team realize their professional potential is close to my heart.
“We will work together to support and accelerate the digital transformation of industries in Africa, in particular through CONNECT, our industrial intelligence platform, with the support of our ecosystem of partners. »
A Google-Ipsos report reveals Nigerians topping global AI usage at 88%, surpassing the 62% worldwide average, with sharp rises in education and business applications.
“Our Life with AI: Helpfulness in the hands of more people” shows 93% of Nigerians using AI for learning complex topics versus 74% globally, 91% for work assistance, and 80% for new ventures—nearly double the 42% global rate.
Taiwo Kola-Ogunlade, Google’s West Africa Communications Manager, stated: “Nigerians are creatively using AI to unlock opportunities for learning, growth, and economic empowerment, shaping their future with technology.”
Key findings highlight 91% viewing AI positively for learning access, 95% expecting benefits for students and educators, and strong optimism—80% excited versus 20% concerned, compared to global 53%-46% split. Frequent users show 90% excitement
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