Investors commit $10bn to telecoms sector

According to the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), foreign direct investors have committed about $10bn to the Nigerian telecommunications sector in the past four years.

This was disclosed by the Executive Vice Chairman of the NCC, Eugene Juwah, during a recent forum with journalists in Abuja.

Juwah also said that Internet penetration in Nigeria now stands at 59.4 per cent.

He said:

“The Nigerian telecommunications industry has grown in leaps and bounds over the last four years. Our industry statistics as of February 2015 show an active voice subscriber base of about 142.5 million; a tele-density of about 101.8 per cent; about 83.2 million Internet subscribers (overwhelmingly using wireless access means); Internet penetration rate of about 59.4 per cent; and Foreign Direct Investment of about $32bn; and the telecoms industry contributes about nine per cent to Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product.”

“In 2010, there were 88.3 million subscribers, with a tele-density of about 63.1 per cent and less than 20 million Internet subscribers, and an aggregate investment of about $25bn with a GDP contribution of 4.5 per cent.”

“Regardless of this impressive performance, however, the Nigerian telecommunications industry still has tremendous opportunities for growth, especially in the area of broadband infrastructure deployment.”

Juwah also said that the NCC would continue to encourage the strengthening of ICT infrastructure in the country while also promoting healthy competition in the broadband ecosystem.