Telecom
Connectivity, Hi-Tech Devices Slow Agency Banking @ Rural Areas
Financial inclusion agents saddled with the responsibility of offering banking services to unbanked especially those in the rural areas where banks are not in sight, have identified poor mobile network connectivity and super agents roll out of advanced technology devices as major challenges of their efforts, Nigeria CommunicationsWeek can now reveal.
Fasasi Sarafadeen Atanda, managing director, ECOSA Hybrid Network, operators’ of banking agents in several rural areas across the country, shared with Nigeria CommunicationsWeek of their technologically related hiccups in their operations.
According to him, ‘there is inherent challenge of mobile network availability in rural areas for our banking transactions. We use point of sale terminal for our transaction which requires mobile network connectivity for it to work but as a result of poor network connectivity some of our transactions fail which lead to rigorous process of reversal of money.
“Although, Nigerian Communications Commission has promised to assist mobile network operators to expand their networks to these areas, but with the existing telecommunications infrastructure, poor network connectivity is a problem for us presently,” he said.
He also lamented advanced technology devices that super agents roll out for transactions at rural locations which make their work difficult.
“Technology super agents and Fintech are rolling out for us at rural areas are advanced and does not work well at such environment. Image where 4G PoS are deployed at rural area with 2G network coverage, more so banks deploy soft touch Automated Teller Machine (ATM) with programming that speaks English that dwellers hardly interpret.
“Super agents with their technology partners also deploy for our use Andriod PoS whose power doesn’t last longer. Android PoS consumes power more than windows powered PoS and considering that there is no electricity supplies at some of these rural areas, such PoS don’t last long before their power goes off.”
Atanda however, urged central bank of Nigeria, to review its policies on agent banking to empower Agents to log complains on behalf of their customers on transaction issues.
Atanda was responding to presentation delivered by Ronke Kuye, managing director, Shared Agent Network Expansion Facilities (SANEF) at DigitalPay conference held in Lagos earlier this week.
Speaking on ‘Ubiquitous customer touch-points: The agents banking benchmark for scale’, she identified some impediments to SANEF realizing the objective of increasing financial inclusion to 80 percent by 2020.
Among them are, cumbersome process for BVN enrolment; low proximity to financial access point, where there are only about 17,000 bank branches to serve 100million Nigerian adults;
She lamented high cost of transactions to customers, as well as lack of compelling products to attract the unbanked.
“There is inadequate financial literacy and campaigns among the unbanked, including language barriers. And also lack of simple interoperable technology/payment platform for account opening and other transactions as well absence of central coordination of stakeholder efforts on financial inclusion.”
Nigeria has exactly 156,662 active fixed wired internet subscriptions as of mid-2026.
This is a tiny fraction compared to mobile GSM networks, which dominate the market with over 154 million subscribers.
The fixed wired market primarily consists of homes and offices using direct physical cables like fiber optics.
Fixed wired services use physical cables, like glass fiber or copper wire, to bring internet directly into a building.
It is like a dedicated, private water pipe for your home. It provides very fast speeds, unlimited data, and is reliable.
In contrast, mobile GSM uses radio waves transmitted from tall towers to phones, acting more like a sprinkler that sprays a signal across an entire neighborhood.
Because laying physical cables across cities is expensive and hard to do, these subscriptions are very rare.
However, the market has seen recent growth, driven largely by Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) services.
The top players are: MTN FibreX with 110,564 subscribers, which is roughly 88.7 per cent of the entire market.
SWIFTNG accounts for about 13,945 connections.
The others are ipNX and 21st Century Technologies which make up the number.
Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) says it is intensifying efforts to implement Nigeria’s planned 112 national emergency number following its approval by the National Economic Council (NEC).
NCC
The commission disclosed this during a meeting between Vice President Kashim Shettima and an NCC delegation led by the Chairman of its Governing Board, Chief Idris Ibikunle Olorunnimbe, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Briefing the Vice President, Olorunnimbe said the NCC had already established about 35 Emergency Communications Centres (ECCs) across the country to support a unified national emergency response system.
He said the next phase of implementation would focus on closer collaboration with state governments and emergency response agencies to ensure the effective rollout of the initiative.
The development follows the recent approval by the NEC, chaired by the Vice President, for the adoption of 112 as Nigeria’s single national emergency number across all tiers of government and emergency response agencies.
The council also approved the establishment of a multi-agency implementation committee to be jointly coordinated by the Office of the Vice President and the NCC.
Olorunnimbe stressed that the success of the initiative would depend on the commitment of state governments to support and maintain emergency communications infrastructure, as well as the readiness of response agencies to promptly attend to distress calls.
“We need commitment at every level of all response agencies—from top to bottom—including the Nigeria Police Force, ambulance services across the states and, at the national level, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA),” he said.
Responding, Shettima directed the NCC to develop a comprehensive roadmap for the nationwide implementation of the single emergency number in line with international best practices.
He also urged the commission to work closely with the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), citing the agency’s experience in disaster management, relief and rehabilitation.
The Vice President assured the commission of the Federal Government’s commitment to sustaining the initiative, saying funding would be mobilised through the National Economic Council and partnerships with the private sector.
He also called for greater dedication from all emergency response agencies to ensure the success of the programme.
The adoption of 112 is expected to harmonise emergency communications across Nigeria by providing a single number through which citizens can quickly access police, fire, ambulance and other emergency services.
The initiative is also expected to replace multiple emergency contact numbers currently in use and improve coordination and response during emergencies.
Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has said that it was strengthening collaboration with state governments and industry players to develop a transparent, cost-based pricing framework for sharing telecom ducts as part of efforts to speed up broadband expansion across Nigeria.
Ayuba Shuaibu, director of Policy, Competition and Economic Analysis, NCC, disclosed this at the Stakeholders’ Forum in Abuja.
Shuaibu said the initiative was designed to build consensus among all parties.
“The primary purpose of this forum is to ensure seamless synergy between the Commission and all stakeholders,” he said.
The director said the consultation was prompted by longstanding complaints over permits, levies and other charges imposed by different levels of government.
He said bringing together state commissioners, telecom operators, tower companies and representatives of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum had helped improve understanding of the issues.
“This engagement is a work in progress. We expect more input from stakeholders before presenting the outcome to the Nigeria Governors’ Forum,” he added.
Dr Helen Adeneye, commissioner for Innovation, Science and Technology, Kogi State. welcomed the consultation, saying Nigeria needs a harmonised policy that clearly defines the responsibilities of both the federal and state governments.
“We need a harmonised policy that allows states to collaborate better with telecom operators and creates a more business-friendly environment,” she said.
Dr Adeneye added that adopting the Dig-Once policy would establish a uniform pricing system and help resolve disputes over charges for telecom infrastructure deployment.
Chidi Ajuzie, chief executive officer, WTES Projects Limited, whose firm is conducting the consultancy study, said the proposed framework would introduce a common cost structure for duct sharing to support broadband investment and economic growth.
“The study is designed to create a uniform pricing model that will drive broadband growth, economic development and wider adoption across the country,” he said.
Ajuzie explained that the consultants had developed preliminary floor and ceiling prices to guide operators while allowing flexibility within the approved range.
He added that the recommendations remain open to industry input before the NCC finalises the framework.
The Dig-Once Policy is designed to reduce the cost and disruption of deploying broadband infrastructure by requiring fibre ducts to be installed whenever roads are constructed or rehabilitated.
The NCC is developing a cost-based pricing framework for sharing these ducts to promote fair pricing, reduce duplication of infrastructure and encourage investment.
The proposed model is expected to support the Federal Government’s broadband expansion targets while improving collaboration between telecom operators and state governments.
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