GSM Association (GSMA), the global organization unifying the mobile ecosystem, has said that Nigeria will need an investment of around $360 million to expand 4G coverage to 98% of the country’s geographical space.
The body disclosed this in its ‘2024 Year in Review’ report for Sub-Saharan Africa, where it highlighted major developments in the telecom landscape.
According to the body, geospatial analysis showed that 4G coverage in Nigeria improved from 41% in 2019 to 84% in 2024.
“However, it is much lower in rural areas, at 48%. The additional investment needed to achieve 98% coverage for 4G in Nigeria currently stands at around $360 million,” it stated.
It added that the remaining 2% of the population is very remote and sparsely populated and so will likely require alternative technologies like satellites for connectivity.
Policy reform to reduce cost
Emphasizing the need for policy reforms in the country’s telecom space, the GSMA noted that policy reforms to remove sector-specific taxation on infrastructure and remove retail price regulation would reduce the investment gap by 44% to $200 million.
- It also highlighted the importance of demand-side policies such as 4G device access and affordability as key in bridging the investment gap.
- The body also recommended policies for Nigeria in the areas of telecoms infrastructure security and elimination of Right of way fees.
“If the policy reforms recommended in this report are adopted altogether, we quantified the enablement effect in accelerating the adoption of mobile broadband by 2030,” the GSMA stated.
Digital Africa Index
The GSMA further noted that result from the first edition of its Digital Africa Index provides clear evidence that countries with enabling policies and regulations, and more importantly have implemented these policies through political goodwill, are more likely to have higher levels of digital development, brought about by high mobile broadband adoption.
“However, only four countries (Kenya, Mauritius, Seychelles, and South Africa) have a score above 50 (the maximum score being 100),” it stated.
The body added that most countries in Africa have scores below 50, meaning they have significant scope to accelerate digital transformation with a more enabling policy framework.
What you should know
While acknowledging the challenges in the telecom sector in Nigeria, the Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani, recently said the government is supporting the industry in many ways, one of which include the declaration of telecom infrastructure as critical national infrastructure.
- Tijani said the government has also realized that it cannot leave the investment in the industry entirely to the private sector, which is why the government is now investing in infrastructure to help operators reach more people.
- According to him, the private sector operators typically invest in areas with critical mass and economic activities because those are where they can generate revenue.
He said the government has, therefore, assessed the situation and set benchmarks for the quality of service expected across the country.
