Telecom
IT Stakeholders Not Pleased with 10% Broadband Penetration, 2018 Target Dims
From available data, it will take special interventions for Nigeria to achieve her 30% broadband penetration as industry stakeholders on Friday bemoaned the mere 10% achievement almost mid-term to 2018 target.
Available statistics shows that broadband has struggled to grow from 6% in 2013, to 8% in 2014 and currently stood at 10%, even though the National Broadband Plan is targeting 30% penetration (growth) by 2018.
The stakeholders who gathered at third quarterly seminar of the Nigeria Information & Communications Technology Reporters’ Association (NITRA) held in Lagos, unanimously agreed that President Muhammadu Buhari led government should make deliberate policies that will attract more foreign direct investments (FDIs) to tackle infrastructural deficit in the sector.
Speaking at the NITRA seminar, Dr. Emmanuel Ekuwem, group chairman, Teledom Group and chairman of the occasion, however, warned that quest for FDIs must be balanced to allow local investors participation in creating values in the system too.
According to him, theme for the seminar: Foreign Direct Investment: An Impetus to Achieving Ubiquitous Broadband Penetration”, is timely now that the Federal Government is concerned with deepening the economy for the improvement of the lives of the citizens.
He however, said FDIs can be regarded as beneficial when Nigerians could create “contents” to complement demands from the outside world, generate employments, and protect the intellectual properties of the people and profit from the internet economy.
“It has become common saying that Broadband is a service to the people. Before now, the slogan has been ‘NarrowBand will deliver narrow future, broadband being broad future’. The important thing is that broadband has to run on infrastructure. NCC has done a good job by trying to unbundle the service provising scope, however, there are rooms for improvement.
“Content is key too. We cannot be claiming for improved broadband penetration without considering how to create contents. Infrastructural investments can be sustained by resources generated from content. So, FDI and broadband can be as broad as Nigerian want it, but we need to balance broadband penetration with the content we are creating, so we don’t invent digital imperialism,” he said.
Engineer Lanre Ajayi, president of ATCON, said operators in the industry align their thoughts with NITRA that 10% broadband penetration is slow, but every stakeholder must not shy away from the multifaceted challenges faced operators to deploy services.
He said unless issues on right of way (RoW), multiple taxation, security, indiscriminate shut down of base stations; to name a few, are addressed, inability to couping return on investments has become worrisome to the investors.
He called for joint effort to migrating the identified challenges to move the nation telecommunications industry forward.
“The truth is that 30% broadband penetration is not too ambitious considering the fact that countries like Kenya, South Africa, Ghana, etc have achieved even more than that. We have undersea cables already at the seashores of Lagos, the question is why the delays in taking the capacities to the last mile, especially the hinterlands. Investors are not happy about the delays but are faced with puncity if challenges. These have to be addressed to push penetration,” Ajayi said.
In a presentation on the Seminar theme, Mr. Olusegun Salami, senior manager, Transmission Access Planning, Network Group at MTN Nigeria, said it’s heartwarming that the present administration is employing policies to further open up the economy in a manner that the economy will be able to attract more FDIs, expectedly, such will address inadequacies that hamper broadband penetration.
Essentially, he said, the need to leverage available spectrum to drive broadband to rural areas cannot be over emphasised.
“As we work towards increased broadband penetration, measures to adopt should take take the strategies that made it possible for 90% radio (communication) penetration in rural areas,” he suggested.
Salami recalled that the journey of broadband adoption commenced in Nigeria in 2007 with the launch of 3G as against the narrow bands, however, with issues related to infrastructure been tackled, the time for cheaper smartphones is now.
“Imagine when we have broadband everywhere but feature phones still account for 40% of the market, desktops 30% and smartphones account for mere 25%, it wouldn’t work, to say the least,” he said.
The Senior Manager, Transmission Access Planning, Network Group at MTN Nigeria, also said that LTE services will help expand broadband scope to hinterlands when Federal Government makes deliberate policies to aid operators channel their services to such terrains.
He said, “We are happy government is moving in the direction to increase its investments in the development of the nation’s infrastructure such as power, supply, roads, telecoms, etc., in order to reduce the cost of doing business thereby wooing more FDIs.
“Thus, government should encourage production activity via production incentives and/or subsidies in order to increase the economy’s GDP”.
He added that the anti-graft drives of the present administration should be complemented with efficient judicial system to boast investors’ confidence on the system.
Earlier, Mr. Emma Okonji, internet and broadband have been globally acknowledged as the foundation for the transformation of a knowledge-base economy.
“Today, broadband penetration has struggled to grow from 6 per cent in 2013, to 8 per cent in 2014 and currently stood at 10 per cent penetration, even though the National Broadband Plan is targeting 30 per cent growth in 2018. As industry watchdog, NITRA is not pleased with the growth rate in broadband penetration in the country, vis-a-vis the fast growing number of internet users in Nigeria, which currently stood at 88 million,” he said.
NITRA, he said, is aligning with stakeholders in urging the Federal Government and the NCC to consider a purposeful implementation of the National Broadband Plan, in such a way it will attract foreign direct investment and also help to boost the natonal development.
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
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.
In an era where customer complaints about data consumption often play out on social media, MTN Nigeria took an unusual step. Rather than issue another statement, the company opened its doors and invited critics, customers, influencers and journalists to interrogate its operations at the Data On Trial in Lagos.
Dr Karl Toriola, MTN Nigeria
The session offered a rare glimpse into the realities behind Nigeria’s digital economy. MTN Nigeria CEO, Dr Karl Toriola, acknowledged public concerns and encouraged participants to ask difficult questions. “Give it to us as hard as you can. Ask us the most difficult questions, don’t hold back,” he said. The company used the platform to explain how factors such as automatic cloud backups, video streaming and app settings contribute significantly to data consumption, issues many users often overlook.
Beyond addressing consumer concerns, MTN shed light on the scale of investment required to keep Nigeria connected. Toriola disclosed that the company invested close to ₦1 trillion in network infrastructure last year and plans to exceed that figure this year. He explained that these investments support network expansion, improved capacity and service delivery for millions of Nigerians across the country.
The session also highlighted MTN’s commitment to accountability. Company executives explained that MTN’s billing systems are independently audited and reviewed by regulators to ensure accuracy and fairness. “What we are saying authoritatively is we will never deliberately shortchange you on the consumption of your data,” Toriola stated, reaffirming the company’s position on customer trust and transparency.
More than a defence of its network, Data On Trial reflected a company willing to engage openly with the people it serves. At a time when digital connectivity has become central to everyday life, MTN’s decision to answer tough questions in public signalled a broader commitment to transparency, customer education and continuous investment in Nigeria’s digital future.
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