With only eight months to meet the 70 per cent broadband target as enshrined in the National Broadband Plan (NNBP 2020 to 2025), feelers from the sector suggest that the intensity behind the target appeared to have weakened. Operators, especially mobile network operators (MNOs), concentrate more on improving the quality of telephony service.
Industry sources monitoring the development told The Guardian that while the sector is still hopeful of hitting the target, the major challenge is to move the sector from quality of service (QoS) to quality of experience.
Nigeria is 25 per cent short of meeting the 70 per cent broadband target. According to the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), as of January 2025, broadband penetration was 45.16 per cent with some 98 million Nigerians enjoying the service.
A senior telecoms executive in one of the MNOs, who preferred anonymity, said operators recognised that good QoS is a key differentiator and a competitive advantage in a saturated market like Nigeria.
According to him, poor QoS is a disincentive to any operator, “as it results in a huge market loss. Operators understand that maintaining a certain level of QoS is crucial for long-term sustainability and to avoid further customer dissatisfaction.
“The target now is to improve telephone services, because it was crucial to us getting the 50 per cent tariff hike. We are not jettisoning broadband targets, but I think service needs to improve first before expansion can happen,” he stated.
Providing further insight, the Chairman of the Association of Licensed Telecom Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), Gbenga Adebayo, said this is still April, and things can still happen within the broadband space.
“We are just ending April. So, we still have a couple of months until the end of the year. And I think now that the industry sustainability is being addressed, we are seeing more potential for investment in the sector.
“We see more potential for investment. We are already seeing anticipation of interest in some areas. So, if those investments that are coming in or that are expected to trickle in, we may be able to do now what we are talking about. But we may not be far from achieving that 70 per cent. And so, I think at this stage, I’m more pleased than I was the last time we spoke on this matter.
“Because, now that industry sustainability, including pricing, is at the centre, we are seeing players inject more capital into the networks. And I think that this will help in ramping up the target for broadband. The idea is that there will be more expansions; there will be more penetration of the market. And so, the projection may not be too far from attaining.
“We may be able to achieve it, provided that what we are now seeing comes to real life in terms of investment. Now, the other thing I know is that the government is talking about this multi-kilometre fibre project. If that project takes off early enough, it could draw us closer to 70 per cent.”
Adebayo said what is more important for the sector, especially the MNOs is improving the quality of telephony service in the country. He said major investments by operators now are going towards improving the quality of services, saying that as the quality of services is being improved, expansion can take place.
“So, the area of interest as of now is on how best to get more capacity into the system, how best to optimise what we have, and to improve on the quality of service and quality of experience of users across the country. So, with that happening, there will also be expansion taking place alongside. So, it is a combination of all of these.
“The fact is even if we don’t achieve the 70 per cent penetration for broadband as anticipated by 2025, it will be better to have quality of service by the end of 2025. So, maybe it’s not the quantity, but the quality that matters in this regard. So, even if we don’t do the 70 per cent that is anticipated, we will be able to deliver better quality of service and experience to people.
“I think rather than do 70 per cent broadband and user experience is still as poor as what we had seen in the previous years, concentration is now more on ensuring subscribers get services they are paying for,” he stated.
In an earlier interview, the President of the Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON), Tony Emoekpere, emphasised the disconnect between official figures and the real-life experiences of end-users as far as broadband penetration.
Emoekpere said: “Penetration is far from being met. The numbers don’t reflect the lived experience of users.
He pointed to poor call quality and unreliable data services as indicators of deeper challenges. He stressed the importance of establishing a reliable data baseline and warned that unless investor confidence is restored and capital injected into broadband infrastructure, the sector will continue to underperform.
“With just a few months to go, achieving 70 per cent penetration will be an uphill task. We need connectivity beyond urban centres – fibre deployment from the coast to the hinterlands, upgrades to legacy cell sites, and fiber-to-the-home investments. Unfortunately, that is not happening at scale,” he said.
