Telecom: Tariff Hike Has Atttracted $1bn Investments, Says Maida

The Federal Government has disclosed that the recent increase in tariffs in the Nigerian telecommunications sector has attracted an investment valued at $1 billion to boost broadband coverage and capacity in the country, despite initial fears about the hike.

The Executive Vice Chairman (EVC/CEO) of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Dr Aminu Maida, disclosed this at the opening of the Business Roundtable on Investments in Broadband Connectivity and Safeguarding Critical National Information Infrastructure, which the Commission organised in Abuja on Wednesday.

Speaking on the theme “Right of Way and Protection of Broadband Infrastructure: The Road to Success in Broadband Investment and Connectivity,” the NCC boss said, “In line with our economic regulatory mandate, earlier this year, the Commission approved the application of tariff rates that are both cost-reflective and competitive within the telecommunications industry.
According to him, this strategic regulatory intervention has significantly strengthened investors confidence in the Nigerian telecommunications sector. “I can confirm that operators have made a collective commitment to investing over $1 billion in additional rollout investments to expand broadband coverage and capacity nationwide,” he added.

Also speaking during the meeting, Minister of Finance Wale Edun said that the government had taken steps to address the challenges of multiple taxation and weak infrastructure hindering the sector through a concerted stakeholder approach.

The Minister, represented by the Director, Home, Ministry of Finance, Dr Ali Mohammed, called for increased private sector investments in the telecom industry.

He said, “This sector is virtually vulnerable, it is compact, and therefore we are calling for our local and international investors to come forward so that we can invest in this particular sector. The government alone cannot do it. We need the cooperation and collaboration of the private sector.

“Of course, problems have been identified regarding connectivity and broadband infrastructure development in Nigeria. These problems are quite numerous, but they are not something that we cannot solve; we have the problem of a weak framework, and we have too much taxation. “So there is a need for stakeholders to come together and deal with this particular problem.”

Also speaking during the roundtable, Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq, Chairman of the Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF) and Governor of Kwara State, who the NGF’s Director General represented, Abdulateef Shittu, assured the governors of their support for the country’s digital transformation.

“We fully support the national commitment to raise broadband penetration to 80% by 2027. Achieving this will require an additional 95,000 kilometres of fibre-optic cable across Nigeria, which the Minister of Digital Economy has alluded to. This ambitious task calls for genuine collaboration among stakeholders gathered here today,” he said.

The National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, noted that “the NGF can play a pivotal role by fostering consistency and consensus among states, encouraging compliance through peer engagement, and aligning state policies with national broadband objectives.

Represented by the Director of the National Assets and Infrastructure Protection Office of the National Security Adviser, AVM Enebong Effiom, the NSA said that the forum “can also facilitate dialogue on all regulated broadband concerns that hinder digital inclusion and infrastructure growth.”