International Telecommunications Union has put the number of internet users in the country at 24 million, a figure that is low compare to a country with 150 million people. This situation explains why Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has embarked on different regulatory framework as well as initiatives aimed at increasing internet access in the country. Such regulatory framework includes, relaxed regulations of internet service delivery this the commission said is a approach adopted deliberately to ensure that operators in the sector roll out internet service that would help in increasing access to Nigerians no matter where they live. The commission had also initiated such projects as Wire Nigeria project as well as State Accelerated Broadband project which has taken off in some northern states of the federal. All these are efforts by the commission to ensure that internet access is available to all Nigerians and cost effective also with good speed.
Telecommunications experts that spoke to Nigeria CommunicationsWeek are of the view that the best means of delivery high speed internet service is through terrestrial infrastructure such as copper and fibre optic. They decried the peculiarity of Nigeria situation where there is no national fibre optic backbone network required to deliver broadband internet service thereby forcing operators in the industry to use wireless technology, satellite among others.
Lanre Ajayi, managing director, Pinet Informatics, argued that Nigeria cannot wait till the required fibre optic or copper infrastructure is available before people can use internet, which makes the use some mobile internet applications relevant in the effort to make internet accessible to the people.
As technology evolves it improves efficiency as well as capability to deliver added services. This is the case of mobile telecommunications technologies, which has continued to advance to deliver internet service at a good speed.
For instance, GSM technology has advanced from two generation that hardly deliver internet to 3G network that delivers mobile broadband to users, same is the case of code division multiple access (CDMA) from TDMA to 2000 1x and EV-DO Rev A which deliver mobile broadband internet access as well as voice from the same platform.
According to recent findings by Dataxis Intelligence, Mobile broadband subscribers in Africa – users of data cards and USB dongles through cellular 3G networks- reached 4 million milestone in the last quarter of 2011.
In fact, according to Dataxis, mobile broadband adoption grows 2 times faster than fixed broadband with an average net addition of over 400,000 new subscribers on a quarterly basis. This euphoria is mainly due to the flexibility of the service  with both prepaid and postpaid offerings marketed by operators as well as its user-friendly aspects -mobility, top-up to name a few.
A simple explanation for Mobile Broadband is that it’s like having your fixed home broadband experience delivered to your mobile device. Mobile Broadband rivals the performance of fixed broadband technologies and is suitable for a broad range of data applications including accessing email with attachments, web browsing, multimedia streaming and file downloads while stationary or on the go.
The last 18 months have seen a huge upswing in the adoption of mobile broadband globally, especially relating to PC connectivity through 3G USB “dongles”, as well as high-end smartphones like the Apple iPhone™, Blacberry among others.
For the mobile industry, Mobile Broadband has been one of the few bright spots, especially in matured markets where the recession (and regulation) has impacted on voice and SMS revenues.  There are several technologies competing to deliver commercial mobile broadband services. By far the most successful is HSPA, which has been commercially deployed by over 300 operators in more than 110 countries.
The arrival of mobile broadband has prompted PC notebook manufacturers to embed cellular modems into their products, as they have done with Bluetooth®. Previous 2G and 2.5G mobile technologies were simply not fast or efficient enough to justify being embedded into notebooks. The GSMA designed the Mobile Broadband Enabled Service Mark to simplify customer communication by quickly and easily conveying to consumers that their devices are Mobile Broadband Enabled.
To date, over 2,000 HSPA devices have been launched globally. These devices initially included conventional mobile phones, PC Cards and Express Cards and USB ‘dongles’. 
Mobile broadband enabled devices are now available in the market, supporting a vast range of consumer and industry applications. These devices are being used to deliver solutions to people and industry in metropolitan and rural areas to a range of sectors including consumer electronics, clean technology, health care, transportation and utilities. The GSMA Embedded Mobile initiative is a GSMA market-development programme designed to accelerate the adoption of wireless connectivity across these sectors.
In order for operators to deliver the Mobile Broadband connectivity that delivers feature rich applications to consumers and industry it is crucial that they can innovate in a defined and stable environment, confident in the security of spectrum allocations. The GSMA actively lobbies governments to fairly allocate spectrum to operators – including spectrum that has been freed up by the Digital Dividend.
The new operator Capex investment data, compiled by global investment firm Deutsche Bank, reflects the continued consumer and enterprise demand for mobile broadband services and the need for underlying infrastructure, and comes as global HSPA connections reach the 200 million milestone.
GSMA said that mobile technology is revolutionising the lives of millions of people in Africa and will continue to be the primary means for the great majority to access voice, data and internet-based services. Mobile broadband has the potential to improve access to health care and education, create new business opportunities and access to markets, and ultimately to help eradicate extreme poverty.