Telecom
Telecom Fails to Lift Nigeria as Connectivity Scorecard Rings Worries
Nigeria for the umpteenth year performed woefully in the 2011 global connectivity scorecard index scoring 1.09 and retains the 23rd position among the resource and efficiency-driven economies, although the mobile telecom sector continues to attract wide commendations, Nigeria CommunicationsWeek can now report.
Like in the previous year’s report, Nigeria continues to rank among the bottom five countries – India, Pakistan, Kenya and Bangladesh, despite posting a relatively better performance in the consumer segment, led by a high mobile phone penetration ratio.
This was the verdict of the connectivity scorecard, a global ICT index – the first of its kind to rank 50 countries not only on their deployment of ICT infrastructure but also to measure the extent to which governments, businesses and consumers make use of connectivity technologies to enhance social and economic prosperity, so called “useful connectivity”.
Nigeria’s performance in the public sector according to the connectivity scorecard continues to raise serious concerns as the report said it remains: “very poor, indicating significant room for improvement.”
Nigeria’s rating on the business-related scale falls short of average. It scored 0.05 and 0.15 in “business infrastructure and business usage and skills respectively result in lowering the country’s overall score and ranking.”
In other to redress these seeming intractable challenges, the “Nigeria (therefore) needs to make substantial efforts in utilizing ICT in the economically critical business domain.”
“Though the infrastructure component is relatively higher, indicating that there may be online services available, Nigeria suffers from gross inefficient utilization. This can be attributed to either a lack of resources or unaffordability that most Nigerians face, thus bringing down its score on this metric.”
Illiteracy also contributes to the country’s poor performance as it posted 70 per cent down the scale.
Despite having one of the highest mobile total cost of ownership (TCOs), ranking three times over Kenya put at about Naira1, 570 (approximately $10) per subscriber per month, the telecom sector continues to be seen as the big pusher in the country’s growth.
“Nigeria demonstrates its greatest relative strengths in the consumer components with scores of 0.08 in consumer infrastructure and 0.30 in consumer usage and skills. The country’s mobile phone penetration rate stands close to 60 per cent, which is very impressive in light of its fixed-line penetration rate of around 1 per cent,” the report stated.
However, the report failed to take into account the high failure rate among the code-division multiple access (CDMA) operators in Nigeria as it continues to rate the fixed-line segment in Nigeria the “most competitive (fixed-line) market in Africa.” In rating it the ‘most competitive’, it took cognizance of the fact that a second national carrier (SNO) was licenced with intent of operating a very viable fixed-line network which has so-far failed to materialize.
“Strong demand for internet services and broadband capabilities is aiding the development of the fixed-line sector, which has enormous growth potential. The majority of new lines are provided by fixed-wireless systems, and a new unified licensing regime introduced in 2006 will intensify the competition between fixed and mobile operators,” it said.
In the last three years several of the over 200 CDMA operators have gone out of shop due to a myriad of factors including operational cost, and lack of good corporate government. But chiefly, the CDMA or fixed-wireless segment has a mountain of a very vibrant GSM segment to contend with.
Faced with challenges of poor power supply, rising cost of diesel, infrastructure vandalisation and general insecurity to field operation staff, the CDMA operators budged.
But Nigeria’s over 160 million populations, with over 60 per cent of that below 40 continue to be the high market attraction for investors. The performance of the mobile sector in more than a decade of market liberalization is another factor that spells hope for this complex West African economic powerhouse.
“The country, on the other hand shows immense potential for future growth. It is one of the biggest and fastest growing telecom markets in Africa, attracting huge amounts of foreign investment, and is yet standing at very low levels of market penetration. The mobile sector, shared by four operators, has seen triple-digit growth rates every year since competition has been introduced,” the report concludes.
Spacecoin, US-based, has announced the signing of recent agreements with local authorities and operators to launch satellite connectivity pilot projects in Africa.
The initiatives, focused on Kenya and Nigeria, aim to serve areas where terrestrial networks remain limited or unavailable.
n Kenya, Spacecoin has obtained a transmission license from the Communications Authority, allowing it to test satellite-based solutions for connectivity and Internet of Things (IoT) monitoring, particularly in rural and peri-urban areas with limited internet access.
According to the Kenyan regulator, internet penetration remains below 50% of the population, despite mobile penetration exceeding 130%.
In parallel, the company is continuing operations in Nigeria under an existing license issued by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).
This authorization supports initiatives aimed at delivering affordable broadband connectivity to isolated and underserved communities.
Spacecoin’s approach is based on a decentralized satellite network using nanosatellites in low Earth orbit (LEO).
Combined with blockchain-based protocols, this architecture is intended to offer more flexible and cost-effective connectivity services than traditional networks, while also enabling the integration of IoT solutions for a range of uses, from smart agriculture to infrastructure monitoring.
These projects are part of a broader strategy to help narrow Africa’s digital divide, where a significant share of the population still lacks access to reliable internet services.
Satellite technology is increasingly viewed as a complement to terrestrial infrastructure, particularly in hard-to-reach areas where deployment costs and geographic constraints remain high.
Beyond Africa, Spacecoin is also running pilot projects in Asia, working with local partners to test the viability of its model across different regulatory and geographic environments.
According to the company’s management, growing interest from regulators reflects a shift toward solutions capable of reaching populations that have long been excluded from internet access.
AVEVA, a global leader in industrial software, driving digital transformation and sustainability, today announces the appointment of Khaled Salah, 37 years old, as Vice President of Africa.
Khaled Salah
In this new role, he will be responsible for about 30 employees to ensure the successful implementation of AVEVA’s growth strategy. Khaled Salah will report directly to Jesus Hernandez, SVP of the EMEA region.
A 15-years + career across different industries and domains
With a MBA in management from the Warwick business school, UK, and a master’s degree in engineering from Ain Shams university in Egypt, Khaled Salah is an active advocate for driving sustainable progress in the industrial sector. With Sustainability in mind, Khaled is keen on making a positive business impact, while fostering progress for people and the planet.
He started his career at Schneider Electric, in 2013 in the global supply chain and evolved through various roles such as Europe procurement and supply chain strategy Manager, and Global Commercial strategy Director for the industrial automation business. Khaled Salah has developed a strategic understanding of all those fields.
After 12 years in Schneider Electric, Khaled joined AVEVA in 2022 to lead AVEVA and Schneider Electric global strategic partnership, across all industries managing a team of 30 people.
He has led the introduction of new AVEVA software solutions to initiate and develop significant growth areas across all Schneider Electric verticals.
Ambitious plans for AVEVA in Africa
In addition to his current role as AVEVA and Schneider Electric partnership Vice-President, Khaled now takes over the management of AVEVA’s activities in Africa.
Jesus Hernandez, SVP of the EMEA region says: “Africa is a strategic region for AVEVA. In this major industrial market, customers, world leaders in the fields of Energy, Metal & Mining, Chemicals, and Water, are looking for AVEVA’s expertise to accelerate and drive their digital transformation and sustainability strategies, as well as their energy transition projects.
“Khaled Salah’s qualities of leadership in a global environment will benefit his team spread across 12 countries including Algeria, Morocco, Egypt, Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa.”
Motivated by the prospect of capitalizing on the talent of his team to strengthen AVEVA’s presence in Africa in the years to come, Khaled Salah says: “Helping my team realize their professional potential is close to my heart.
“We will work together to support and accelerate the digital transformation of industries in Africa, in particular through CONNECT, our industrial intelligence platform, with the support of our ecosystem of partners. »
A Google-Ipsos report reveals Nigerians topping global AI usage at 88%, surpassing the 62% worldwide average, with sharp rises in education and business applications.
“Our Life with AI: Helpfulness in the hands of more people” shows 93% of Nigerians using AI for learning complex topics versus 74% globally, 91% for work assistance, and 80% for new ventures—nearly double the 42% global rate.
Taiwo Kola-Ogunlade, Google’s West Africa Communications Manager, stated: “Nigerians are creatively using AI to unlock opportunities for learning, growth, and economic empowerment, shaping their future with technology.”
Key findings highlight 91% viewing AI positively for learning access, 95% expecting benefits for students and educators, and strong optimism—80% excited versus 20% concerned, compared to global 53%-46% split. Frequent users show 90% excitement
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