Nigeria has seen a small gain in broadband internet access as of February, but it confronts a difficult struggle in attaining its broadband objective for next year.
According to the most recent data from the Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC), the country's broadband internet connections climbed by 1.3 percent month over month in February to 93.4 million.
This comes after a 2.7% monthly drop in January.
According to the NCC, mobile broadband accounts for over 99 percent of Nigeria's broadband connections due to the convenience and low cost of getting mobile lines.
“Consequently, the monthly rise in broadband connections mirrors the month-on-month increase in active mobile lines during the period,” explained Tunde Abidoye, equity research analyst at FBN Capital.
The small monthly rise in broadband connections lifted the country's broadband penetration rate to 43.1 percent, up from 42.5 percent in January.
According to NCC, the National Broadband Plan (NBP 2020-2025) aims to achieve 70% broadband penetration and 90% population coverage by 2025.
Abidoye highlighted, however, that in order to meet this ambitious goal, the government would need to solve the huge shortage in communications infrastructure in the country's rural areas.
Mobile operators across the country continue to confront a number of obstacles while constructing telecom infrastructure, including security concerns, theft and vandalism of telecom equipment, and issues with states issuing Right of Way licenses to telecom operators.
"Another contributory factor to the slow expansion of network facilities is operators' limited access to foreign exchange," the economist said, adding that forex scarcity had resulted in mobile operators sourcing the currency in the parallel market at exorbitant rates, leading to higher import bill costs.
"In the same vein, the prevailing macroeconomic challenges and FX liquidity concerns have also resulted in a reduction of foreign investment in the telecoms industry," Abidoye said.
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