Nigeria’s Broadband Penetration Hits 42.79%
Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof. Isa Pantami, said the global digital community that Nigeria has been witnessing phenomenal growth in its Information and Communication Technology (ICT) industry, thus enabling socio-economic development in Nigeria and across the African continent.
Pantami stated this at a sideline of the 2022 International Telecommunication Union’s World Telecommunications Development Conference (ITU-WTDC),hosted by Nigeria which started in Kigali Rwanda on Wednesday, June 8, 2022.
“Nigeria has utilized ICT as a driver of socio-economic development not just for herself, but also for the benefit of the sub-region and continent, given its role as a founding member and strategic sponsor of the West Africa Telecommunications Regulators Assembly (WATRA),” Maska said.
Providing latest growth statistics in terms of the telecoms segment of the Nigerian ICT industry, Maska said in the last 20 years, Nigeria has achieved robust growth in its telecoms industry where it went from less than half a million connected telephone lines to over 200 million active mobile lines as at April, 2022. Importantly, the broadband penetration in Nigeria is now 42.79 per cent.
“As a country, we have grown from Second Generation (2G), to 3G, 4G and now the 5G is about to come on board after conducting a globally-acclaimed transparent auction and awards of two 5G licences. Also, the country has implemented vigorous financial inclusion initiatives riding on robust digital infrastructure,” he said.
