Telecom
Ndukwe Lists Factors for Sustaining Telecom Growth
Ernest Ndukwe, executive vice chairman, Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, has listed the prerequisites for sustaining the successes recorded in the sector in the last ten years.
Engr. Ndukwe who spoke as guest speaker at the maiden edition of “Breakfast With ” , hosted by the alumni association of the School of Media and Communications at the Pan African University in Lagos, said such factors include a regulatory regime that is independent, transparent, and predictable; an updated national telecom policy and laws, a conducive operational environment; an efficient frequency spectrum management and allocation; improved power supply; expansion of the broadband infrastructure, capacity building of indigenous manpower, stable financial stability, among others.
At the breakfast meeting which held at the Ahmed Onibudo campus of the university and chaired by Professor Juan Elegido, the Vice Chancellor, the NCC boss noted that the successes recorded by the Commission in the past ten years is attributed to the successful sector reform, made possible by conducive environment with respect to policies and the regulatory regime.
“I think to sustain the growth, we must lay emphasis to a few things and I will start by advocating that we must maintain stability in the policy and regulatory environment”, he said. He said these two factors are critical for any investor to make an investment decision.
Engr. Ndukwe whose audience included Engr. Vincent Maduka, former director general of NTA, Professor Emevwo Biakolo, the dean of the School of Communications, Mr. Ben Egbuna, former director general of FRCN, Mr. Olukayode Olubunmi, president of SMCA, said the current telecom policy in Nigeria needs to be updated, while the forward-looking 2003 Act needs to be revisited to accommodate one or two emergent issues in the sector.
The NCC boss said with hindsight of experience, it is critical that the financial and operational independence of the regulator is maintained. “Why we moved as fast as we did over this period is as a result of fair amount of regulatory independence that the organization had”, he said. He said this independence is not just independence from the political hierarchy but also from the operating companies, which he said, makes financial independence very critical too.
He said it is not wrong for investors to make profit as it was government’s decision to invite the investors and without returns on such investments, perhaps, Nigeria’s paltry 400,000 lines in 2001 would not have grown to the more than 70 million active subscriber lines today. “Our focus should not only be that money is being made in the industry but that this decision of government has suddenly changed the landscape and provided phones in the hands of most
Nigerians, and provided telephone “access” because even if you do not own a phone, you will likely find a place to make calls near your location today”, he said.
Ndukwe said apart from efficient management of the frequency spectrum, the regulator must always ensure that frequencies are earmarked for new services are reserved in order to enable the country to be on same page with the rest of the world. He said this is the reason why Nigeria is quite active at the International Telecommunications Union, ITU, at the moment.
“I think also going forward, we must emphasize on growing broadband infrastructure, and not just growing it for the sake of it but catalyzing its adoption and usage, nationwide”, he said. He hoped that the ongoing optics fibre infrastructure deployment going on in the country will accelerate broadband Internet adoption and usage.
While relating this to his pet concept, Fibre Without Borders”, Engr. Ndukwe said “even within the African continent, we should encourage building of optic fibre that links the countries of Africa because that will help us do local peering of Internet, keep local networks linked to each other, reduce price of communicating within the countries in Africa and perhaps greatly increase broadband speed”.
He also noted that the much the nation is able to develop the manpower resources available for the industry will determine how the industry performs in the next ten years and beyond. He cited some countries like India that export such resources to other parts of the world. Ndukwe said the Digital Bridge Institute which was NCC’s contribution to this capacity budging requirement is currently waiting the approval of its application to the National University Commission, NUC, for approval as a university.
He said some areas that are external to the telecom industry but very critical for its success are the power sector and banking and finance sectors of the economy. He advocated for an idea regional management where each state of the federation will have the responsibility to generate and provide power to the state. He wondered why many countries that are less in geographical spread and population than any given state in Nigeria were able to enthrone uninterruptible power supply over the years.
Ndukwe who recalled his parts in the telecom industry as a private operator and President of the Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria before he joined the NCC, said he has had an interesting and fulfilling time.
“It’s been a big part of my life and I consider myself really opportune to be in this place at this time especially in the past ten years in seeing the telecom industry transform to what it is today.
“And obviously, in thinking about sustaining the growth also means that it is still work in progress and there is still much to be done despite the achievements we have been made so far”, he said.
Professor Elegido praised Engr. Ndukwe for the transformational work he had bequeathed to the Nigeria’s telecom industry, and the Nigerian nation in finding its feet in the committee of nations.
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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