Telecom
Consumers Spending on ICT Market to Hit $4 Trillion in 2018 – IDC
Worldwide Semiannual IT Spending Guide said that worldwide spending on information and communications technology (ICT) will be nearly $4.0 trillion in 2018, according to new data from the Industry and Company Size from International Data Corporation (IDC).
The explosive growth of smartphones in recent years means that consumer spending will account for the largest proportion of that total, but growth will be driven by enterprise spending on cloud, software and infrastructure related to 3rd Platform solutions.
The consumer market will account for more than $1.5 trillion in ICT spending in 2018 and will deliver more than one third of all worldwide spending throughout the forecast.
Consumer spending will also experience the slowest growth over the forecast period with a CAGR of 1.2%.
Roughly 80% of consumer spending will go to devices and mobile telecom services.
Banking, discrete manufacturing, telecommunications, and professional services will be the four largest industries for ICT spending in 2018 at more than $900 billion combined.
While all four industries will invest heavily in applications, infrastructure, outsourcing, and telecom services, spending levels will vary depending on industry needs.
For example, banking will invest the most in IT outsourcing and project-oriented outsourcing ($115 billion combined) while telecommunications spending will be led by infrastructure purchases ($85 billion).
Professional services and banking will experience the fastest growth in ICT spending with five-year CAGRs or 5.9% and 5.2%, respectively.
The United States will see $1.3 trillion in ICT spending in 2018 making it the largest geographic market this year and throughout the forecast with spending expected to grow at a CAGR of 3.6%.
China will be the second largest market for ICT spending at $499 billion this year with solid growth (5.2% CAGR) forecast through 2021.
Japan, the UK, and Germany will round out the top five countries for ICT spending in 2018.
The countries that will experience the fastest ICT spending growth over the 2016-2021 forecast period are the Philippines (7.5% CAGR), India (7.0% CAGR), and Peru (6.7% CAGR).
Jessica Goepfert, program director, Customer Insights & Analysis, said “The growth of technology spending in the U.S. professional services industry is propelled by the tech-savvy firms that comprise it. Think Facebook, Google, Microsoft, and Uber, to name a few.
“These companies wholeheartedly embrace technology as a key enabler to their business strategies and service offerings, and are often the first to test drive new innovations as they strive to stay ahead of the rapidly evolving technology market.
“Meanwhile, banks and retailers share the common desire to deliver a delightful, cohesive, channel-agnostic customer experience.
“These initiatives are enabled by technology investments to help organizations unite their physical and online worlds.”
In terms of company size, the small office category (businesses with 1-9 employees) will account for 7% all ICT spending throughout the forecast period.
Most of this spending (around $100 billion per year) will go toward fixed and mobile telecom services, while devices will also be a significant spending category.
On the other end of the spectrum, very large businesses (more than 1,000 employees) will account for more than 50% of all ICT spending throughout the forecast.
These businesses will focus the majority of their spending on IT outsourcing, project-oriented outsourcing, applications, and infrastructure as they pursue their digital transformation strategy.
The spending patterns for small businesses (10-99 employees) will closely resemble those of the small office category with slightly more spending going toward applications and outsourcing.
Medium (100-499 employees) and large (500-999 employees) businesses will experience more balanced spending across all technology categories.
Spending on information technology (IT) will reach $2.16 trillion this year, led by business and consumer spending on devices, applications, IT outsourcing, and project-oriented outsourcing, including application development and system and network implementation.
In addition, more than $300 billion will be spent on business process outsourcing and business consulting services this year.
Telecommunications spending is forecast to be $1.5 trillion this year with 95% of the total going to fixed and mobile telecom services.
Mobile phones will be the largest segment of technology spending at nearly $500 billion in 2018, followed by mobile data and mobile voice at more than $400 billion each.
Stephen Minton, research vice president, Customer Insights & Analysis.said “Spending for telecom services is largely dominated by consumers, but some industries have emerged as rapid adopters of fixed and mobile data services over the past few years.
“In Asia, special projects and initiatives have helped to boost fixed broadband adoption in the education sector.
“In the U.S., the healthcare industry is a major source of fixed-line telecom spending, while transportation firms in Canada and Japan have invested aggressively in mobile broadband solutions.
“Meanwhile, consumers in many emerging markets continue to leapfrog fixed broadband and go straight to mobile data services, which is changing the entire landscape for how to connect with end-users in these countries.”
The need for Nigeria to think outside the box in its need to drive towards global relevance with innovations and scientific developments will be on the front burner at the NITRA Innovative & Scientific Conference scheduled to hold on Thursday July 23, 2026 in Ikeja, Lagos.
NITRA
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) will lead other delegates to discuss and take far-reaching decisions at the event, which has its theme as “Bridging Nigeria’s Digital Divide With Scientific Innovation”.
Other companies that have indicated interest in partnering with NITRA include mobile communications company, Tecno; Africa’s premier end-to-end AI solutions company, Hyperspace; and telecommunications data infrastructure company, Digital Realty.
Speaking on the proposed event, the Chairman, Nigeria Information Technology Reporters Association (NITRA), Chike Onwuegbuchi noted that the event will seek to create a platform for government and private organisations to deliberate on policies around scientific innovations in Nigeria, challenges, place of indigenous and foreign collaboration, roles of each stakeholder, and grassroots development in that regard, among others.
According to him: “The Federal government, with series of programmes and partnerships, has established the urgent need to create an ecosystem that thrives on scientific innovation, breeding institutions and individuals with a target of placing the country at the fore-front of Next-Gen development.
It is a known fact that digital and scientific innovations are crucial, not only to the survivability of a nation, but also to the sustainability of its growth and development, with significant effect on economic strength, global image, defense and security, government capabilities to function, and public health and safety, communication and digital footprint, among others.
The federal government is actively driving scientific innovation to foster economic diversification and build a $1 trillion economy by 2030. Efforts are heavily focused on commercializing research, establishing massive research funds, and funding strategic infrastructure, particularly in technology, biotechnology, and healthcare. Core government initiatives and policies include the newly instituted National Research and Innovation Development Fund (NRIDF), which aims to mobilize about $500 million annually to support research and the commercialization of scientific outputs; and the Nigeria Genomic City, a multi-ministerial initiative aimed at transforming Nigeria into a leading hub for genomics, precision medicine, and biotechnology. It is designed to protect indigenous data, stimulate artificial intelligence in health, and develop a highly skilled scientific workforce.
According to the General Secretary of NITRA, Mr. Chidiebere Nwankwo, the forum will also be a vehicle to propagating the views of decision makers to the public, thereby furthering the cause of public awareness and information dissemination on the topic.
The focus, he said will be on how Nigeria can sustain digital innovative growth and scientific development in Nigeria
The board of global payments company, PayPal, says a 53 billion dollars takeover offer from financial technology firm, Stripe, and private equity company, Advent International, does not adequately reflect the company’s long-term value.
PayPal
According to reports, the proposed acquisition, valued at 60.50 dollars per share, remains under consideration, with the board yet to formally respond to the offer.
The directors are said to be evaluating not only the financial value of the proposal but also the structure of the financing, the timeline for completing the transaction and the likelihood of obtaining regulatory approvals.
They are also considering the possibility of competing bids emerging.
Although the offer represents a premium of about 28 per cent above PayPal’s recent share price, the board believes the company could deliver greater value to shareholders if its ongoing turnaround strategy succeeds.
Following reports of the bid, PayPal shares gained about two per cent to close at 56.73 dollars.
Sources familiar with the discussions said Stripe and Advent have secured approximately 50 billion dollars in debt financing from JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley, while both firms would jointly contribute 17 billion dollars in equity.
Under the proposal, the two companies would jointly own PayPal instead of dividing its operations.
PayPal, Stripe, Advent International, JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley have all declined to comment on the proposed transaction.
The discussions come as PayPal seeks to strengthen its business after years of increasing competition from rivals including Apple Pay, Google Pay and emerging financial technology firms.
The company, which was valued at about 360 billion dollars in 2021, now has a market capitalisation of approximately 36 billion dollars.
Since assuming office as Chief Executive Officer in March 2026, Enrique Lores has embarked on a restructuring programme aimed at improving operational efficiency and restoring growth.
The restructuring includes the creation of three business divisions comprising Checkout, Venmo and Consumer Financial Services, and Payments and Crypto.
The company is also targeting 1.5 billion dollars in cost savings through the deployment of artificial intelligence technologies.
PayPal’s latest financial results indicated signs of recovery, with first-quarter revenue rising seven per cent year-on-year to 8.35 billion dollars, while total payment volume increased by eight per cent to 464 billion dollars.
If approved, the transaction would combine two of the world’s largest digital payments companies.
The combined business would process an estimated 3.7 trillion dollars in annual payment volume, significantly strengthening its position in the global online payments market.
However, analysts expect the proposed acquisition to face intense regulatory scrutiny because of the companies’ combined market share in merchant payment services.
To address possible antitrust concerns, the bidders have reportedly considered options, including separating PayPal’s Braintree business or other assets if required by regulators.
Sources said Stripe and Advent remain interested in pursuing the acquisition despite the board’s reservations, although negotiations are expected to continue.
Market observers are also awaiting PayPal’s earnings report scheduled for July 28 for further indications of the company’s financial recovery and future growth prospects.
Concerns over network reliability and its impact on Nigeria’s growing creator economy took centre stage at MTN Nigeria’s Data on Trial event, where content creator and streamer, Jarvis, challenged telecommunications operators to improve connectivity for digital creators.
Speaking during the event, Jarvis asked whether there were locations in Nigeria where uninterrupted internet connectivity could support real-life (IRL) streaming without network disruptions.
“Are there places where there is no breakage when streaming IRL?” she asked.
Her question highlighted the challenges faced by content creators who depend on stable internet services for live streaming, content uploads and real-time engagement with audiences.
Responding, MTN Nigeria’s Chief Technical Officer, Mr Yahaya Ibrahim, said network performance depends on several factors, including location, network coverage, device capability and the number of users connected to a particular base station.
He noted that operators continue to invest in expanding network capacity to meet the growing demand for data services.
Earlier, MTN’s General Manager, Network Performance and Quality Assurance, Mr Michael Ndukwe, explained the evolution of mobile network technology in Nigeria, from first-generation (1G) services to the current fifth-generation (5G) technology.
According to him, each phase of technological advancement has significantly increased network capacity and enabled new digital services.
Ndukwe cited Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) data showing that Nigerians consumed about 13.2 million terabytes of data in 2025.
He added that data usage reached approximately 4.06 million terabytes in the first quarter of 2026, reflecting the country’s increasing reliance on digital platforms and online services.
According to him, the growth is being driven by wider adoption of 4G and 5G networks, increased smartphone penetration, the proliferation of smart devices and expanding use of social media platforms.
Participants at the event noted that as more Nigerians build businesses and careers around digital content, access to reliable and high-speed internet has become critical to sustaining the country’s digital economy and creator ecosystem.
Dangote Refinery’s Private Placement Reportedly Hits $2.5Bn
FG, UNODC Plan National Strategy against Organized Crime
EFCC Busts NIS Visa Overstay Racket, Uncovers N700m in an Account
CBN to Monitor Every Dollar with FXBT, Forex Tracker
NCC, NDLEA Partner to Fight Piracy and Drug Trafficking
NRC, Ponzi Scheme Collapses Resulting Loss of Billions of Naira
NASENI Moves to Digitize CCB’s 5m Assets Declaration and Operations
Lebara Nigeria Launches Lebara Play, Africa’s First Telecom-Owned Micro-Drama Platform
CANAL+ Partners Samsung to Pre-Load DStv Stream on New Samsung TVs In Nigeria, Other African Countries
Tokenization, Blockchain Technology will Transform Financial Institutions – IMF
News3 days agoCourt Orders Final Forfeiture of 48 Properties Linked to Former AGF Abubakar Malami
News3 days agoValueJet Expands Fleet with Boeing Aircraft, Targets Wider African Network
Telecom3 days agoHelios Towers Secures $29m Facility to Expand Across Africa
News22 hours agoEFCC Busts NIS Visa Overstay Racket, Uncovers N700m in an Account
News3 days agoCourt Grants Former CCT Chairman Danladi Umar N100m Bail Over EFCC Charges
E-Financial3 days agoFirst Securities Brokers Empowers Nigerians to Trade in the Stock Market with the Launch of FirstInvest App
Broadcasting3 days agoNBC Scraps Annual Digital Access Fee on DSO
Telecom3 days agoNCC Begins Stakeholder Consultation on MVNO Business Rules