Telecom
‘Broadband Access in Nigeria’ Not Broad Enough, Not Qualitative Enough- Report
By peter oluka
Despite Nigeria’s 5+ submarine cables, carrying a combined capacity of 10+ TBPS, Nigeria still suffers from low broadband penetration.
In an attempt to increase penetration, the Federal Government’s Presidential on Broadband drafted a Broadband plan which was eventually enacted into a policy with goal of increasing fixed broadband penetration to 30% by 2018.
Meanwhile, with a reported Broadband penetration of approximately 21%, Nigeria seems to have met her National Broadband Plan target of reaching “by the end of 2017, a fivefold increase in broadband penetration over the 2012 penetration rate (of between 4-6%)”.
However, in its Policy Brief dated June 2017, titled: ‘Broadband Access in Nigeria: Not Broad Enough, Not Qualitative Enough’ Paradigm Initiative Nigeria (PIN) passed a damning verdict on the state of ‘Broadband Nigeria’; although the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) putting fixed broadband penetration in Nigeria at 0.01%, admittedly, the bulk of this broadband access has been through mobile broadband.
Internet penetration in Nigeria is put at 47%, according to the ITU.
According to the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), there were just over 90 million active mobile internet subscriptions on GSM and CDMA networks as of April 20175.
The report by PIN continues: Although Nigeria’s broadband plan envisaged that mobile broadband would be the most popular medium for the actualization of the plan, perhaps it was overly optimistic in its plans for the rollout of Terrestrial wireless networks, Fibre, Cable, Digital Subscriber lines and Satellite Networks, given Nigeria’s historic challenges with infrastructure development.
As earlier noted, fixed broadband penetration is 0.01% and infrastructural and policy challenges has limited the effectiveness of Nigeria’s only real claim to a national broadband network – mainly 3G and lately 4G Mobile broadband, resulting in resulting in poor quality of service.
Nigeria’s Systemic Infrastructure Obstacle
Speaking on the backdrop of the report, Babatunde Okunoye, research assistant at Paradigm Initiative, said that Nigeria’s low fixed broadband penetration must be set against the background of the Terabytes of broadband capacity which lay underutilized at landing points of International submarine cable on the Lagos coast.
The successful outlay inland of this capacity, the report observed, has been hindered by factors including unfavourable government policies such as multiple taxation and Right of Way requirements.
“In a country that could only boast 200,000 telephone lines 40 years after independence for a population of over 120 million, Nigeria had always had challenges delivering infrastructural dividends to its citizens.
“The now rested state monopoly Nitel, despite not having to contend with the limiting factors earlier mentioned, and empowered by the biggest spender in the economy (the Federal Government), could only deliver fixed telephone lines to a privileged few (200,000 or 0.001% of the population) over 4 decades”, the report said.
This infrastructure challenge was not peculiar to Telecoms alone, but was also seen in the poor state of critical infrastructure in Nigeria.
Against this background of historical poor infrastructure delivery outcomes in Nigeria, it can be argued that the National Broadband Plan (2013-2018), in its far-reaching plans for an elaborate broadband infrastructure deployment across the nation was overly optimistic in its timeframe.
This is particularly true in its plan for city-wide fibre deployment, which can be as involved as providing fixed telephone line access.
As envisaged by the National Broadband Plan, the best hope of delivering on Nigeria’s broadband plan is by ensuring that the spread of Nigeria’s 3G and relatively new 4G mobile networks which has largely helped broadband penetration to reach 21% is widened and the Quality of Service (QoS) improved.
The Nigerian government is already taking steps to deepen broadband penetration through the licensing of six slots of the 2.6 GHz spectrum for the deployment of 4G services in 2016 and the planned licensing of broadband services on the 5.4 GHz spectrum bank and allocation of 70/80 GHz band (E-band), amongst other plans.
The success of Nigeria’s GSM network is itself quite a story because in some respects, it defied Nigeria’s infrastructure challenges, partly being because it did not require the same level of elaborate layout of infrastructure house to house and street to street as required in fibre deployment for instance; a number of Telco Towers sufficing for each coverage area – plus backhaul infrastructure.
With exactly two years of the Broadband Plan left (2017-2018) and the fixed broadband penetration rate at 0.01%, there is an urgent need to revise the National Broadband Plan for fixed broadband, the report recommended.
“The remaining 2 years also provides the opportunity to solidify the gains of the national spread of mobile broadband.
“A key metric which captures the quality of Internet access in Nigeria is the Average Connection speed, put at 3.9 Mbps (compared to a global average of 7.2 Mbps), according to Akamai’s ‘State of the Internet’ Q1 2017 report”.
“This cannot be divorced from the state of Network infrastructure in the country. In the United States and the United Kingdom for instance, there is an average of 1 Telecommunications base station for 2,300 and 2,100 customers respectively”, the PIN report suggests.
In Nigeria however, there are about 39,000 Telecommunications base stations for a population of over 180 million, an average of 1 for 4,600 consumers7.
The state of Network infrastructure is centrally linked to the poor Quality of Service (QoS) in mobile broadband delivery in Nigeria.
According to the Customer satisfaction survey conducted by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) in 2012, nationally, there were marginally more respondents reporting that their connection speed was “slow or very slow” than those reporting it as “fast or very fast”.
This policy brief, which follows Paradigm Initiative’s first policy brief on broadband9, stresses that the years 2017-2018 provides another opportunity to revise the National Broadband Plan, perhaps extending the target year beyond 2018 in respect of fixed Broadband (fibre), while rallying to meet the targets for mobile broadband in terms of Quality of Service (QoS) as also noted in the plan.
A major hindrance to the scheduled outlay of terabytes of fibre broadband from the Nigerian coast to the Nigerian interior has been the policy bottlenecks of multiple taxation and right of way requirements which have burdened ISPs. In this regard, it is important to call on the Federal Government to get its priorities right.
“The proposed plan for second and third national satellites, in our opinion, is wasteful, because resources allocated for this project can be used to broaden Internet access. We are of the opinion that the government can do with 1 or 2 satellites for now – there is no empirical evidence the current satellite (NigComSat-1) has given a good return on investment and financing planned for a third satellite can be channelled instead to funding tax breaks and right of way abstentions for ISPs. A nation that cannot in the 21st century provide reliable broadband access to the majority of its citizens has no business in space in the first place.
“Another immediate priority for the government will be to formulate policies that will prioritize a marked increase in the spread of 3G/4G networks – given they are the only realistic route for achieving some of the goals of the Broadband Plan within the current timetable.
“The licensing of six slots of the 2.6 GHz spectrum for the deployment of 4G services in 2016 was therefore a step in the right direction. Indeed, the Broadband plan notes that, At this juncture 3G (or HSPA) mobile broadband technology provides the fastest way for the delivery of universal mobile broadband access in Nigeria now and in the near future, while targeting LTE technology for future high capacity networks.
“3G and LTE are indeed the most ideal solutions for leapfrogging Nigeria to high speed broadband delivery
“Therefore all hands must be on deck to ensure that the worthy goal of connecting every Nigerian to a superfast and reliable broadband network is realized.
“Nigeria’s 47% and 21% Internet penetration and broadband penetration rates respectively can be partly explained by the concentration of telecom signals in highly populated urban areas and the neglect of the rural countryside where broadband affordability and consequently demand is a challenge. [Source: OpenSignal 3G and 4G LTE Cell Coverage Map]
“The figure above shows gaps between the National Planned and National Existing Broadband Fibre Infrastructure (37,104 km) in Nigeria. This challenge has been identified by the National Broadband Plan as critical to achieving broadband penetration target of 30% by 2018. [Source: Universal Services Provision Fund/Nigerian Communications Commission]”.
Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has vowed to intensify its collaboration with security agencies to arrest and prosecute individuals vandalising the country’s Critical National Information Infrastructure (CNII).
Auwal Abdullahi, head of Quality of Service at the NCC, said this during a media engagement held in Abuja.
The move comes on the heels of the recent signing of the “Designation and Protection of Critical National Information Infrastructure Order, 2024” by President Bola Tinubu.
The Order is aimed at protecting essential digital and communication systems from cyberattacks, vandalism, and related disruptions.
Speaking on the development, Abdullahi said: “The Critical National Information Infrastructure (CNII) Act has provisions for prosecution, and the operationalisation of CNII falls under the purview of the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA). Anyone found liable for damaging or disrupting CNII will be prosecuted going forward. We are working with relevant agencies like the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) to tackle these problems and prosecute offenders.”
He recounted that some telecom operators recorded significant financial losses two years ago, largely due to exchange rate pressures and infrastructure vandalism.
“About two years ago, we noticed a situation where some of our key telecom operators were recording massive losses. Despite increasing revenues, they were struggling with heavy forex-related obligations that ate into their revenues. This led to poor quality of service,” he said.
According to him, the recent tariff adjustments have placed the industry back on a path to profitability and renewed investment.
“As a result, they are able to reinvest in their networks, which will lead to better quality of service and experience. We expect investments in the industry to increase significantly this year, more than what was seen in the last two years. The Nigerian telecoms industry has great promise, evident in its revenue growth and service delivery, despite the recent challenges,” he added
Also speaking at the event, Aminu Maida, executive vice chairman and CEO of the NCC, reassured stakeholders that the Commission remains committed to driving improvements in network quality across the country.
Represented by Mrs. Nnena Ukoha, acting head of Public Affairs, Maida challenged journalists to act on the knowledge shared at the forum.
“This is not for you alone. You now have this information, do not just sit on it. For instance, you were given figures on fiber cuts and thefts affecting NCC. Who is responsible for those infrastructures? The NSCDC. Ask them: ‘Of all these incidents, what are you doing about them? How many people have been prosecuted?’ Every state has legal departments. Go and ask them: ‘What are you doing to protect critical infrastructure?’ he queried.
Association of Licensed Telecommunications Companies in Nigeria (ALTON) has revealed that 13 commercial banks have fully settled their outstanding Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) service debts to Mobile Network Operators (MNOs).
Gbenga Adebayo, chairman, ALTON
The remaining three banks are nearing completion of their payments, having cleared over 95% of their respective debts, according to Gbenga Adebayo, chairman, ALTON.
This resolution paves the way for a new billing system for USSD banking transactions.
Going forward, charges for these services will be debited directly from customers’ airtime accounts.
The update on debt settlements and the upcoming billing model were discussed , during the ‘ASK the Exec’ online meeting anchored by MTN.
Participants included Lynda Saint-Nwafor, chief enterprise business officer at MTN and Adebayo.
According to the ALTON Chairman, there has been substantial progress in resolving the long-standing debt issue.
“As of January, the outstanding debt from banks to MNOs for USSD services was N180 billion. Of the 17 banks with pre-API outstanding payments (excluding Heritage Bank, which is insolvent), 13 have fully settled their debts, and the remaining three are in the final stages of installment payments, with over 95% of the debt cleared”, he explained to journalists present at the call.
The clearance of historical debt is crucial as the industry moves to a new operational model.
“Banks with outstanding debts will not be excluded from the new system; they can either migrate to end-user billing once their debts are cleared or choose to remain on the old corporate billing model, provided they settle their outstanding obligations”, Adebayo pointed out.
Since 2021, collaborative efforts between the telecommunications and banking industries, supported by their regulators, have aimed to standardize charges for USSD banking transactions, resulting in a unified fee of N6.98 per transaction.
Saint-Nwafor, explained the upcoming change: “The most significant change is the transition to end-user billing, where customers will now be billed for USSD transactions directly from their airtime accounts instead of their bank accounts. This means deductions will no longer occur from bank balances but from airtime balances held with MNOs.”
Previously, banks directly debited customers’ bank accounts, a system that presented challenges regarding transparency and control.
To address this, an Application Programming Interface (API) was developed, granting banks full control over their USSD channels. For instance, a bank like GTBank with the USSD code *737# can now ensure a customer’s number is accepted by the bank before a transaction proceeds, after which the bank applies the N6.98 charge.
MNOs like MTN simply facilitate the connection, earning their N6.98 fee for providing the channel.
To ensure a smooth transition and consistent experience, a standardized process for end-user billing has been implemented across all operators and banks: Consent Message: Customers dialing a bank’s USSD code will receive a clear consent message informing them of the N6.98 deduction from their airtime and requesting acceptance.
Aggregator Communication: Upon acceptance, the MNO will contact a USSD aggregator to confirm the bank’s availability, preventing billing for unfulfilled services. Transaction and Billing: Once the bank confirms readiness, the MNO connects the customer and bills the airtime account.
All MNOs have also unified their messaging to customers, providing consistent communication on service levels and transaction outcomes, clarifying if a transaction failed due to issues on the bank’s end or the telco’s side.
Crucially, telco service purchases (airtime and data) from banks are zero-rated when customers use direct strings (e.g., dialing *737*10000# for N10,000 airtime instead of the generic *737#).
This informs both the MNO and the bank of the specific intent, making these transactions free.
Customers are strongly encouraged to use these direct strings to avoid charges, and extensive communication campaigns are planned. Any instance of double deduction (from both airtime and bank accounts) should be reported to the customer’s bank.
Adebayo addressed several key questions, reassuring the public about the implications for consumers and businesses.
He noted that for consumers, the shift to end-user billing has a zero net effect on cost, as they were already paying the N6.98 fee, albeit from their bank accounts.
Transparency and accountability are enhanced through standardized consent messages, inter-industry agreements, and MNOs’ commitment to provide monthly performance statistics to regulators.
“If a transaction fails due to MNO network issues, the customer will not be billed, or any deduction will be reversed. However, if the failure originates from the bank’s end (e.g., insufficient bank balance, bank system downtime), the customer will still be billed, with the reason for failure communicated”, ALTON Chairman explained.
The concern about USSD usage limiting access for those in unbanked areas or without airtime was also addressed.
“The N6.98 charge is considerably lower than alternative transport costs to physical banking points. Furthermore, customers can purchase airtime from their bank accounts at zero cost using direct strings, even if they have no airtime, as long as they have funds in their bank account. USSD is seen as a convenience channel, with all stakeholders contributing to the cost of providing financial services”, Adebayo stated.
In a strategic move to advance national security through innovation and digital infrastructure, Galaxy Backbone Limited (GBB), Nigeria’s leading provider of ICT infrastructure and digital services, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Nigeria Police Trust Fund (NPTF) to support the development and integration of Smart Police Stations across the country.
The MOU signing ceremony, which took place at Galaxy Backbone’s Corporate Headquarters in Abuja, underscores the Federal Government’s Renewed Hope Digital Transformation Agenda and the commitment of both institutions to foster a more secure, connected, and technologically empowered Nigeria.
Speaking at the event, Professor Ibrahim Adeyanju, the Managing Director/CEO of Galaxy Backbone, emphasized the importance of this collaboration in strengthening digital-led policing.
“Today’s agreement represents more than a partnership—it reflects a shared vision for a smarter, more resilient, and inclusive Nigeria. Our collaboration with the Nigeria Police Trust Fund brings cutting-edge technology into the heart of Nigeria’s security architecture through the deployment of Smart Police Stations. These initiatives reflect our firm commitment to innovation, trust, and nation-building,” he said.
Under the terms of the agreement, GBB will provide high-speed fibre connectivity, cloud platforms, and secure digital infrastructure to support the deployment of Smart Police Stations in key locations nationwide.
These stations will be equipped with advanced ICT tools to enhance real-time communication, surveillance, data sharing, and operational efficiency within the Nigeria Police Force.
The partnership is expected to significantly improve public safety outcomes by enabling more data-driven decision-making, improved incident response times, and greater transparency in law enforcement.
This initiative reinforces Galaxy Backbone’s strategic role as the digital backbone of government operations—enabling secure, interoperable platforms that support innovation, governance, and national development. The agreement with the Nigeria Police Trust Fund is a bold step toward building a more secure and technologically advanced Nigeria.
NASRDA, Galaxy Space Firm Sign MoU on Satellite Connectivity
Bank Customers Petition CBN over Illegal Deductions, Demand Action
DBN Awards N13m in Grants to Tech Startups
NCC to Name, Shame Telecom Infrastructure Vandals
USSD: 13 Banks Clear Debts – ALTON
News2 days agoLasaco Assurance to Invest in Technologies, Systems to Deliver Value to Clients
E-Financial2 days agoNIBSS National Payment Stack to Transform Nigerian Instant Payments
E-Financial2 days agoCBN Reaffirms Banking Sector Resilience as Forbearance Ends
News1 day agoPalmPay, Glo Launch “Recharge and Win Bonanza 2” with Exciting Prizes
General News1 day agoBridging the Digital Divide: Over 700 Young Africans Empowered by Paradigm Initiative
General News1 day agoIHS Nigeria, United Nations Global Compact Host High-Level Dialogue on Sustainability and Greener Business Practices in Nigeria
News1 day agoHow and Why N210 Trillion is Missing in NNPCL – CFO
Telecom2 days agoParadigm Initiative Warns of AI-Driven Hate Speech, Urges Global Tech Reform