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In emerging economies like Africa, infrastructures are constantly being built. Roads are enhanced or laid, water and sewage pipes installed and replaced.
This creates major challenges for network operators with fiber cables underground, these cables are cut far more often than they should be and as a result network service is disrupted.
Judging by what has been achieved in the broadband sector in Nigeria today, the significant success recorded so far in this sector is the landing of several high-capacity submarine cables, resulting in a drop in international bandwidth wholesale prices. However, inefficient inland bandwidth transmission and distribution has continued to pose a major challenge and is an obstacle for the desired broadband boom in Nigeria.
Last week, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) said the country has attained 79.65 percent teledensity and 48.81 percent broadband penetration as of May 2025.
This was revealed during a stakeholders’ forum in Abuja where the Commission unveiled a draft licensing regime, the General Authorisation Framework, aimed at boosting innovation and accommodating new technologies within Nigeria’s telecoms sector.
Speaking at the forum, the Executive Vice Chairman of the NCC, Dr. Aminu Maida, represented by the Executive Commissioner for Stakeholder Management, Rimini Makama, said the new framework was designed to respond to the fast-changing digital economy and support startups, new service models, and emerging technologies.
“We are at a turning point where the nature of innovation demands a regulatory approach that is enabling and forward-looking,” Maida said.
The draft introduces three instruments: Proof-of-Concept for piloting ideas, Regulatory Sandbox for controlled testing, and Interim Service Authorisation for services that fall outside existing license categories.
Director of Licensing and Authorisation at NCC, Mr. Usman Mamman, said the framework was informed by research and global benchmarking from countries like the UK and Singapore.
“This new approach will support experimentation and responsible deployment while safeguarding market integrity,” Mamman noted, urging stakeholders to contribute feedback before finalisation.
During the forum, Head of Telecoms Law and Regulations at the NCC, Dr. Mohammed Yusuf, also presented stakeholder input from groups like the Industry Consumer Advisory Forum (ICAF) and MTN Nigeria.
ICAF called for clearer consumer protection measures, redress mechanisms, and limits on the scope of authorisations, while MTN raised concerns about overlap between temporary and permanent licences, calling for more specific guidelines.
Yusuf assured participants that the final framework will reflect stakeholder concerns and align with national digital policies. The Commission emphasised that the General Authorisation Framework remains a draft and is open to public
Data released by NCC in 2023 revealed that the country’s teledensity dropped 115.63% in August 2023 to 102.97% in November 2023.
This came as the Commission adjusted the metrics upward to reflect the latest population growth figures and align with international best practices.
According to industry regulator, the adjustment which is reflected in the telecom industry statistical reports of September, October, and November 2023 is predicated upon the Nigerian Population Commission (NPC)’s projection of Nigeria’s population at 216.7 million, as of 2022, replacing the previously used 2017 projection of 190 million people.
Teledensity is an index prescribed by the International Telecommunications Union, ITU, for the measurement of telephone penetration in a population by a factor of one line per 100 individuals in the population.
While major milestones have been recorded by the telecom sector, there are however, factors limiting broadband penetration in Nigeria.
Despite the growing need for mobile broadband access around the world, which is supported by the increase in the use of smart phones and other mobile devices, there is a vast need to increase the rate of internet penetration.
NCC has acknowledged the low percentage of penetration and provided initiatives to increase the rate. The factors limiting broadband penetration in Nigeria include Network Infrastructure.
Infrastructure plays a major role in broadband penetration as it directly controls access, price etc. Broadband internet access in Nigeria is limited due to the lack of adequate communication infrastructure.
The inadequacy of domestic backbone networks is a major underlying factor limiting the growth of broadband access. The fibre optic backbone infrastructure is not interconnected and is mainly concentrated in urban areas and a few rural areas.
There is no provision for the long distance national backbone to transmit the capacities provided by the undersea cables to last mile end users at homes, offices, schools etc.
Another factor is Poor Electrical Power Supply. The poor state of the power supply has a negative impact on socio-economic development in developing countries. Steady power supply is a major criterion in accessing the internet, which unfortunately has not been addressed in Nigeria and has led to the limited use of the internet by those who desire to use it.
The power supply has affected the installation and management of telecommunication infrastructure, leaving operators relying solely on power generators in powering their base stations, radios etc. which result in an increase in overhead cost thereby affecting productivity and return on investment (ROI).
Right of Way (RoW) which is the legal right granted to network operators to pass through certain routes either through the ground or over property that belongs to others has been a crucial issue that needs to be resolved once and for all at all government levels.
Telecommunication operators in Nigeria pay a huge amount of money to have access thereby limiting the building of network infrastructures and as a result contributing to lower broadband penetration.
Also, broadband adoption can be affected by pricing, as being experienced in Nigeria because of the upward review of tariff rates early this year.
Service providers have increased the cost of providing broadband access to end users due to the high cost of installing network infrastructure. If the demand for internet is low because the end users can’t afford these services, this affects the investors return on investment.
Therefore, service providers are forced to move to urban centres with high income, high population etc. In other developing countries like Tanzania, Namibia etc. the government has built a nationwide broadband backbone infrastructure and leased it to private companies to operate at a low cost; the rate of internet penetration compared to Nigeria is high.
Distance from the backbone base or landing station to the last mile users has made it difficult for those residing in remote locations to gain access to the internet. The farther away the users are from the base station the greater the effect of attenuation and fading on the quality of service.
All the landing points are presently stationed at Lagos and the other regions of the country need to connect from this point resulting in limited distribution.
Additional landing points in other coastal parts of the country will enhance faster fibre rollout around the country.
Providing adequate network infrastructure within Nigeria is an important factor in maintaining economic competitiveness of the unserved and underserved areas. The challenge of providing high-speed broadband access in these areas needs to be tackled effectively.
Broadband penetration and access in urban communities is far better compared to rural and remote regions who often have poor or unreliable connectivity.
Sincere implementation of policies and initiatives laid by the Government in tackling the issue of the digital divide in Nigeria is of high importance. Also practical research into providing qualitative and economical broadband solutions should be carried out across all areas in the country
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