Nigeria’s telecoms sector recorded $456.5 million in Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs) in 2024 against the $134.7 million witnessed in 2023, which is about 238 per cent increase.

This was revealed by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) in the 2024 Subscribers/Network Performance Report released yesterday.

NCC also stated that the telecoms industry’s contribution to Nigeria’s gross domestic product (GDP) increased from 14.00% in the fourth Quarter of 2023 to 14.40% in the Fourth Quarter of 2024, indicating a 2.86% year-on-year growth.

Further analysis of the report showed that telecom operators saw their total earnings rise by 44.7 per cent to N7.67 trillion in 2024 compared to N5.30 trillion in 2023.

This 44.7 per cent was boosted by increased demand for data services, higher subscription rates, and expanded enterprise solutions, which helped operators cushion the effects of rising operational costs.

Amid this rise in revenue for the year, the operators also saw a surge in their operating expenses, which jumped by 85 per cent from N3.16 trillion in 2023 to N5.85 trillion a year later.

NCC in the 79-page document prepared by the Policy, Competition and Economic Analysis Department, said right of way (RoW) charges, alongside a surge in inflation, foreign exchange pressures and rising energy costs, were responsible for the N5.85 trillion OPEX.

NCC said, “Most Licensees complained of high Right of Way (ROW) fees, harsh micro economic operating employment and rising Inflation. However, the NCC has been able to secure zero fees in some states in the year 2024.”

For emphasis, RoW fees are charges paid by telecom operators to deploy fibre-optic cables across roads and public spaces.

Already, a report claimed that the South West, including Ogun, Lagos and Oyo, are the states charging the highest ROW levies in Nigeria.

Specifically, Ogun State charges the highest rate at N9,477 per linear meter, followed by Lagos, N6,264; Oyo, N5,303; Cross River, N4,737; Rivers, N4,047; Edo, N3,491 and Ondo, N3,075. These figures are far above the federal guideline rate of N145 per meter set in 2020.

Amid the charges, NCC disclosed that it was able to secure zero ROW fees in some states in 2024.

The Executive Vice Chairman of the NCC, Dr Aminu Maida, recently informed that five more states have decided to waive the RoW charges.

According to him, the states include Adamawa, Bauchi, Enugu, Benue, and Zamfara. This builds on the earlier decision by six states: Anambra, Katsina, Kebbi, Nasarawa, Osun, and Plateau, to eliminate RoW fees, bringing the total to 11 states offering zero-cost RoW to accelerate broadband infrastructure deployment.

Further analysis of the report showed that GSM operators spent N2.7 trillion on CAPEX, their operating cost was N4.57 trillion and they earned N5.32 trillion in revenue. Fixed Wired capital expenditure was N60, 000, 000 with an operating cost of N267, 181, 628 and saw revenue of N410, 437,581.

Service Providers spent N13.8 billion on capital expenditure, with an operating cost of N196.3 billion and earned N165.6 billion. Value-added service operators earned N83 billion, spent N2.75 billion on CAPEX, with an OPEX of N79.9 billion.

NCC said collocation and infrastructure sharing players spent N174.4 billion on CAPEX, N961.9 billion on OPEX and earned N2 trillion. Other telecom operators spent N1.67 billion on capital expenditure and N38.2 billion on operating costs while they earned N49.5 billion.