…active mobile lines cross 200m mark
Nigeria’s broadband penetration has increased to 42.79 per cent and active mobile lines of subscribers grown to over 200 million.
Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, disclosed this at the 2022 International Telecommunication Union’s World Telecommunications Development Conference, ITU-WTDC, in Kigali Rwanda on Wednesday.
Pantami told 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.
A statement by the Director, Public Affairs, Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, Dr. Ikechukwu Adinde, said the Executive Commissioner, Technical Services at NCC, Ubale Maska, who addressed participants at a tea break hosted by Nigeria, also confirmed that the country has continued to record impressive growth in its ICT sector.
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.
He also disclosed that the broadband penetration in Nigeria is now 42.79 per cent.
“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).
“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.
According to him, many achievements of Nigeria in the area of ICT development have been possible through the successful launch and implementation of policies that foster use of ICTs across all sectors to enhance a digital economy.
Meanwhile, as a long-standing member of ITU Council, Maska said Nigeria has been playing remarkable roles in ITU, such as its chairing the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) 2022; chairing the World Radio Communications Conference (WRC) 2015; and chairing of ITU Council Standing Committee on Administration and Management (SC-ADM) in 2019 and 2022.
In his speech during the brief event, the ITU Scribe, Houlin Zhao, extolled Nigeria’s role and contributions as a member of ITU Council. He used the opportunity to seek the support of the other member countries for Nigeria’s membership in the next cycle, 2022-2026.
