Telecom
IDC Forecasts 8.1 Million Growth for AR & VR by 2018
International Data Corporation (IDC) report has shown that Worldwide shipments of augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) headsets were down 30.5% year over year, totaling 1.2 million units in the first quarter of 2018 (1Q18).
Much of the decline occurred due to the unbundling of screenless VR headsets during the quarter.
For much of 2017, vendors bundled these headsets free with the purchase of a high-end smartphone, but that practice largely came to an end by the start of 2018.
Despite a poor start to 2018, IDC anticipates the overall market will return to growth over the remainder of the year as more vendors target the commercial AR and VR markets and low-cost standalone VR headsets such as the Oculus Go make their way into stores.
IDC forecasts the overall AR and VR headset market to grow to 8.9 million units in 2018, up 6% from the prior year.
That growth will continue throughout the forecast period, reaching 65.9 million units by 2022.
Jitesh Ubrani, senior research analyst for IDC Mobile Device Trackers, said “On the VR front, devices such as the Oculus Go seem promising not because Facebook has solved all the issues surrounding VR, but rather because they are helping to set customer expectations for VR headsets in the future.
“Looking ahead, consumers can expect easier-to-use devices at lower price points.
“Combine that with a growing lineup of content from game makers, Hollywood studios, and even vocational training institutions, and we see a brighter future for the adoption of virtual reality.”
When it comes to augmented reality headsets, many consumers have already had a taste of the technology through screenless viewers such as the Star Wars: Jedi Challenges product from Lenovo.
IDC anticipates these types of headsets will lead the market in shipment volumes in the near term.
However, non-smartphone-based AR headsets should begin to see greater market availability by 2019 as commercial uptake continues to rise and existing brands launch next-generation products.
IDC predicts triple-digit growth in this space between 2019 and 2021.
Tom Mainelli, program vice president, Devices and Augmented and Virtual Reality at IDC, said “Momentum around augmented reality continues to grow as more companies enter the space and begin the work necessary to create the software and services that will drive AR hardware.
“Industry watchers are eager to see new headsets ship from the likes of Magic Leap, Microsoft, and others.
“But for those devices to fulfill their promise we need developers creating the next-generation of applications that will drive new experiences on both the consumer and commercial sides of the market.”
Category Highlights shows that many consumers’ first experience with an Augmented Reality headset will be in the form of a screenless viewer.
While large movie properties such as Star Wars helped move significant volumes of these headsets the past holiday season, uptake for the remainder of the year is likely to slow as the headsets have limited functionality beyond their core applications.
In the latter years of the forecast, IDC expects such products to decline in relevance, although they are likely to remain in the market, often sold as toys.
Meanwhile, standalone AR head-mounted displays (HMDs) should grow to reach 194,000 units in 2018 and will experience a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 190.9% over the five year forecast.
More advanced headsets such as Microsoft’s Hololens and Magic Leap’s One will help drive adoption in the commercial and consumer markets.
Finally, tethered headsets will grow with a five-year CAGR of 241.8%. This last category will be the eventual home of products with lower-cost headsets based on Apple’s ARKit and Google’s ARCore that tether to smartphones or tablets.
IDC forecasts Virtual Reality headsets to grow from 8.1 million in 2018 to 39.2 million by the end of 2022, representing a five-year CAGR of 48.1%. While many think of VR as a consumer technology, IDC believes the commercial market to be equally important and predicts it will grow from 24% of VR headset shipments in 2018 to 44.6% by 2022.
From a platform perspective, the market has been dominated by Oculus largely due to the initial volumes around Samsung’s Gear VR.
This will likely continue in the near term as the Go brings VR to more consumers.
However, the Oculus platform is likely to face pressure from both HTC’s VIve platform and Microsoft’s Windows Mixed Reality platform.
The latter should see strong opportunities in the commercial market as brands such as HP, Dell, and Lenovo bring their years of experience catering to enterprise buyers to the market.
The International Rescue Committee (IRC) has announced the formation of Airbel Ventures, a new humanitarian impact investing fund aimed at accelerating the introduction and scaling of breakthrough technologies in crisis-affected communities.
The fund will invest in companies whose ideas have the potential to change humanitarian response, including digital infrastructure for frontline health systems and climate-resilient agriculture.
The launch of Airbel Ventures follows a period of rapid innovation at the IRC, despite the humanitarian sector facing record funding cuts.
In the past year, the IRC’s Airbel Impact Lab has advanced more than twenty Artificial Intelligence (AI) and technology initiatives—from anticipatory action tools powered by climate and vulnerability data, to frontline service delivery using safe, orchestrated AI systems, to breakthrough diagnostic tools for emerging diseases.
Airbel Ventures’ first impact investment is in Signalytic, a company delivering solar-powered computing devices that ensure reliable electricity and connectivity for remote health facilities.
Following the investment, the IRC will pilot Signalytic’s technology with its Nigeria Health team, demonstrating the viability of next-generation digital infrastructure in humanitarian settings.
“We know breakthrough solutions already exist—what’s missing is the path to scale in humanitarian contexts,” said Dr. Jeannie Annan, Senior Vice President for Research & Innovation at the IRC and head of the Airbel Impact Lab.
MTN Nigeria, the country’s largest telecommunications operator, recorded a historic surge in network disruptions in 2025, suffering 9,218 fibre cuts as of December 31, alongside 211 base station sites affected by theft and vandalism, incidents that disrupted mobile and data services relied upon daily by millions of Nigerians.
The data was revealed by Dr Karl Toriola, chief executive officer/managing director, MTN Nigeria via a social media post titled ‘MTN Nigeria 2025 Wrapped’.
The scale of the damage highlights the growing vulnerability of Nigeria’s telecommunications infrastructure, which has come under increasing pressure from road construction activities, cable theft and deliberate acts of vandalism.
MTN said 5,478 fibre cuts occurred within just the first seven months of 2025, with 760 incidents recorded in July alone, underscoring the intensity of the challenge.
Some of the incidents had wide-ranging consequences, knocking out connectivity across multiple states simultaneously and affecting voice calls, data services, digital payments and enterprise operations.
The company described the situation as a national infrastructure problem, rather than an isolated corporate issue, given the economy’s deep dependence on mobile networks.
“These gaps were shaped by real operational challenges such as fibre cuts, theft, and vandalism. Their impact is felt directly by customers and reflected in what they tell us,” Toriola,
The disruptions were reflected in customer feedback volumes, as MTN handled an unprecedented number of complaints during the year. The operator said it resolved 1,624,263 customer complaints in 2025, spanning call centres, social media platforms, emails and physical service centres nationwide.
Despite the setbacks, MTN pointed to signs of operational resilience. The company retained its ranking as Nigeria’s best network by Ookla, returned to profitability after a challenging period, declared an interim dividend, and expanded its subscriber base to over 85 million users by September 2025.
The figures show that while Nigeria’s telecom operators continue to invest heavily in network expansion and customer service, infrastructure sabotage remains a major drag on service quality and operating costs.
MTN acknowledged that performance improvements remain a work in progress. “We are not where we want to be yet. We see you. We hear you. We exist because of you. And we will get better,” Toriola said.
As the company enters its 25th year of operations in Nigeria, Toriola said MTN is doubling down on customer-centricity, treating every piece of feedback as a guide for improvement, while also stepping up engagement with government agencies.
The CEO renewed calls for stronger regulatory and legal protections for telecommunications infrastructure, urging policymakers to classify fibre cables, base stations and other critical assets as national infrastructure and criminalise vandalism to deter repeat attacks.
Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has granted operating licences to six new Internet Service Providers (ISPs), effective January 1, 2026, raising the total number of authorised ISPs in the country to 231 from 225 recorded in December 2025.
NCC
The newly licensed firms are Intellvision Technologies Limited, Granet Technologies Limited, Fiber Sonic Limited, Dasol Solution Services Ltd, Boost ISP Limited, and Amazon Kuiper Nigeria Limited.
Five of these companies are headquartered in Lagos, while Granet Technologies Limited operates from Owerri in Imo State, highlighting the persistent concentration of broadband infrastructure in major commercial hubs like Lagos, Abuja, and Port Harcourt.
This development intensifies competition in Nigeria’s broadband market, which faces pressure from dominant mobile network operators such as MTN and Airtel, alongside rapid expansion by satellite providers like Starlink.
Traditional ISPs continue to grapple with shrinking customer bases, aggressive data pricing from telcos, and satellite disruptions, even as NCC data from Q2 2025 showed Spectranet, Starlink, and FibreOne controlling about 65 per cent of the 313,713 active ISP subscribers.
The inclusion of Amazon Kuiper Nigeria Limited marks a significant entry of global satellite broadband competition, building on Nigeria’s recent approvals for other low Earth orbit providers to enhance connectivity in underserved areas.
Industry analysts view the licences as a strategic push to improve internet quality amid rising demand for digital services, though geographic clustering underscores ongoing infrastructure challenges outside urban centres.
NCC’s move aligns with broader efforts to foster a competitive telecoms sector critical to Nigeria’s digital economy ambitions.
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