The nation’s communications sector has continued to defy the general lull in the Nigerian economy as the latest data from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) showed that internet subscriptions grew by 32 per cent year-on-year to 86.9 million in April 2015, showing a density of 51 per cent on a population of 170 million.
The latest threshold, according to a research firm and investment banking outfit, FBN Capital Limited has placed Nigeria well above the African average of around 16 per cent as estimated by McKinsey.
The NCC’s data also showed that subscriptions were primarily on the global system for mobile communications (GSM).
It showed that MTN Nigeria dominated, with a share of 45 per cent of total subscriptions, while Globacom, Airtel and Etisalat accounted for 23 per cent, 20 per cent and 12 per cent respectively.
In a report last week, FBN Capital Research said it expected the industry to continue to be a significant contributor to growth through private-sector investment. In 2014 telecoms accounted for 8.4 per cent of constant price GDP.
“Based on data from the NCC, internet usage grew by 47 per cent year-on-year last year on an average annual basis, compared with 11 per cent recorded in 2013. According to industry estimates, Nigeria accounts for 24 per cent of total internet usage in Africa,” FBN Capital Research said.
The report disclosed that the Federal Government’s medium-term goal is to increase broadband penetration to 30 per cent at a minimum speed of 1.5mbps. To achieve this, the national broadband council has accordingly approved four fibre optic cable landing points in four states (Bayelsa, Cross River, Rivers and Ondo).
