Telecom Sector Records $39bn Inflow, 218.9m Users In Q2 2023
Telecoms investment inflow into Nigeria has grown by $39 billion to $77 billion with a record of 218.9 million telephone users, 159.5 million internet subscribers, and 88.7 million broadband users by the end of the second quarter of 2023, Umar Danbatta, the Executive Vice-Chairman, of the Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC) has said.
Investment inflow into the sector peaked at $38 billion at the end of the first quarter of 2023.
Danbatta spoke Saturday at a media parley in Kano where he revealed that the sector had contributed 16 per cent to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) within the period under review.
Nigerian government liberalised the telecom sector in 2001 with the advent of the GSM companies and since then, the industry has continued to grow in leaps, aided by the population of the country.
He attributed the NCC’s statistics to the computation by the Nigeria Bureau of Statistics (NBS), stating that, “From about eight per cent contribution to GDP in 2015, when I came on board as the EVC of NCC, quarterly GDP has increased significantly to reach its current threshold of 16 per cent.“ And this has continued to positively impact all aspects of the economy”, attributing the success to “sustained regulatory excellence and operational efficiency by the Commission”.
He noted the industry growth over the past two decades, adding, “We have witnessed explosive growth, improved regulatory standards, and digital innovation that have generated global recognition,” he said.
Danbatta listed issues of Right of Way (RoW), fibre cuts, the high capital requirement for deployment, and multiple taxations and regulations, among other frustrations, constituting barriers to broadband deployment in the country, but assured that the NCC would “navigate regulatory complexities, digital divide and literacy to tackle the challenges.
He said that the commission would establish an emergency communication centre in each of the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja to bridge the gap between distressed and emergency response agencies in the country.
The commission had increased the amount of research grants being given to universities from N20 million to N30 million of which three universities had so far benefitted from the new grant, mindful of the fact that telecom is an enabler and catalyst for the economic advancement of the country.
“It has consistently made available, affordable and accessible telecoms service to check certain telecoms barriers”, adding that the task of the commission as a regulatory agency in the development of the telecommunications sector was to ensure best practices.
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