The Nigerian Communications Fee (NCC) has formally launched the Nationwide Broadband Alliance for Nigeria (NBAN), a coverage initiative to develop web entry nationwide. The initiative targets key sectors, together with colleges, healthcare services, spiritual facilities, and markets, in a bid to create a sustainable mannequin for widespread broadband adoption.
NBAN aligns with Nigeria’s Nationwide Broadband Plan (2020-2025) and the Strategic Blueprint from the Ministry of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Financial system. The initiative’s objectives embrace growing broadband penetration from 44% in December 2024 to 70% by 2025, offering minimal knowledge speeds of 25 Mbps in city areas and 10 Mbps in rural areas, and boosting broadband investments by 300–500% by 2027.
NBAN adopts a collaborative method, bringing collectively state governments, colleges, hospitals, telecom operators, and infrastructure corporations to drive broadband enlargement throughout the nation. The initiative begins with a pilot program in eight states: Edo, Ogun, Kwara, Katsina, Imo, Abia, Borno, and Nasarawa.
“Reaching these objectives would require extra than simply the efforts of the non-public sector. It would require a holistic method that features strategic partnerships with donors, buyers, and different key stakeholders in accelerating the roll-out of crucial infrastructure,” Aminu Maida, govt vice chairman of the NCC stated on the kick-off assembly in Lagos on Tuesday.
In a associated growth, on January 20, 2025, the NCC authorized a 50% tariff improve for telecom operators, with the situation that service high quality should enhance inside three months of implementation. Whereas the brand new tariffs are usually not but in impact, operators are already getting ready to adjust to the NCC’s necessities.
The NCC has additionally reportedly authorized a roaming and spectrum-sharing settlement between MTN Nigeria and 9mobile. Underneath the settlement, 9mobile, Nigeria’s fourth-largest telecom operator, will leverage MTN’s nationwide infrastructure to enhance its community protection. This association permits 9mobile subscribers to make calls, ship messages, and use knowledge providers in areas the place 9mobile lacks protection. For MTN, the partnership gives profit-sharing alternatives and entry to 9mobile’s spectrum holdings, together with the 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, and 2100 MHz bands.
Airtel Nigeria has additionally outlined plans to develop its community to extra places, improve present websites, and improve service supply, in accordance with CEO Dinesh Balsingh. Nonetheless, assembly the NCC’s three-month deadline could possibly be a big problem. As of January 2025, Nigeria’s web penetration stands at 44%, considerably decrease than South Africa and Egypt, which reported 74.7% and 72.2% penetration in 2024, respectively. Moreover, Nigeria struggles with low-speed web deployment, with 4G penetration at 47% and 5G at simply 2.4%, two years after its launch.
“Tariff improve isn’t all the issue that the business faces,” Gbenga Adebayo, President of the Affiliation of Licenced Telecommunication Operators of Nigeria stated at a telecom CEOs city corridor final week. Based on him, the 50% improve solely permits the operators to recoup among the income losses and fund infrastructure deployment in some underserved areas. Nonetheless, it doesn’t handle a number of taxation, vandalism of telecom infrastructure, and insecurity throughout the nation.
Aminu Maida, NCC’s govt vice chairman, believes the NBAN initiative will help handle these challenges in three key methods: streamlining regulatory processes to expedite fibre deployment, creating incentives for private-sector funding in underserved areas, and launching public consciousness campaigns to encourage broadband adoption and utilization.