Nigeria’s broadband penetration hits 43.3%

Broadband penetration in Nigeria rose to 43.3 percent in August from 42.02 percent in the previous month, according to the Nigerian Communications Commission.

The NCC said subscriptions to broadband or high-speed Internet services had increased significantly to a peak of 82.7 million as at the end of August.

The Executive Vice Chairman of the commission, Prof. Umar Danbatta, disclosed this while speaking at a virtual two-day Nigeria Innovation Summit 2020 organised by InnovationHub Africa, which started on Tuesday.

Danbatta noted that broadband penetration in the country was less than six percent in 2015.

Represented by the Director, Public Affairs, NCC, Dr Ikechukwu Adinde, at the conference, he said Information and Communications Technology and, more specifically, broadband infrastructure had become the major backbone for government activities and local businesses.

According to him, such services require fast broadband and reliable connectivity, and the NCC will continue to work assiduously with its stakeholders in ensuring that the nation’s ICT infrastructure is able to meet the increased demand for connectivity occasioned by the pandemic.

He said, “The NCC has been the major linkage in the drive for optimum economic development, as it remains the pioneer for all the major disruptions that would drive the nation’s economic reboot, especially the financial systems riding on electronic innovations.

“These innovations are driven by the availability of a robust communications infrastructure made possible by the commission’s continuous quest for investment in the sector.”

The NCC boss said for innovation to thrive, as the anchor for accelerating economic growth post-COVID-19, “a robust broadband infrastructure upon is a necessity.”

“The most important outcome of COVID-19 for us, as a nation striving for digital economy, is the need to continue to invest in infrastructure development in critical sectors of the economy, particularly the ICT sector, which has become the bastion of modern economies,” he added.

He expressed the NCC’s commitment to taking proactive steps towards stimulating the investment needed to support a more robust and resilient broadband infrastructure that would spur digital innovations in the country.