The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has urged public and private sector stakeholders to significantly scale up investments in telecom infrastructure to deepen broadband penetration, improve Quality of Service (QoS), and sustain the nation’s rapidly expanding digital economy. ​
The call was delivered on Tuesday, September 29, by the Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the NCC, Dr. Aminu Maida, during his keynote address at the two-day Nigeria Digital Connectivity Investment Forum.
The high-level gathering kicked off at the Transcorp Hilton, Abuja, under the theme “Unlocking Infrastructure Investment through Data, Transparency, and Partnerships.”
Organised by the NCC in partnership with Swedfund International AB and global connectivity intelligence firm Ookla, the event assembled government officials, international investors, mobile network operators, and technology regulators. ​
Dr. Maida revealed that Nigeria’s mobile data consumption climbed by nearly 47 percent over the past year, reaching 1.66 million terabytes in July alone.
He emphasized that current infrastructure capacity must scale urgently to prevent network congestion, support digital financial services, and meet the demands of emerging technologies like artificial intelligence.
​”Keeping pace with this exponential surge in data demand requires sustained, intentional investment, not only to extend broadband into underserved and unserved communities, but to guarantee the quality of experience for existing consumers,” Dr. Maida stated.
“We are making evidence-based decision-making central to our regulatory policy. For investors, this ensures greater transparency, regulatory clarity, and a predictable market environment.” ​
Also speaking at the forum, the Swedish Ambassador to Nigeria, Ms. Anna Westerholm, highlighted that while Nigeria’s digital transformation shows significant momentum, persistent structural gaps in last-mile connectivity, power infrastructure, and capital deployment must be collectively resolved. ​
Additionally, representatives from the Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy underscored that public funding alone cannot bridge the national broadband funding shortfall, reaffirming the Federal Government’s commitment to facilitating joint ventures, co-investment frameworks, and neutral-host models to mitigate investment risks for private capital providers. ​
The NCC reaffirmed its ongoing policy interventions, including the push to deploy 12,000 new network sites and expand target fiber-optic backbones nationwide, encouraging private institutional investors to capitalize on the country’s multi-billion-dollar telecom market potential.
