Nigeria’s telecommunications regulator, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), on Monday said it hopes to increase the number of fixed-lines in a bid to boost broadband access in the country.
Eugene Juwah, NCC CEO, said fixed-lines are key to boosting the country’s internet capacity in conversation with Bloomberg.
“Licenses will be issued to revive the fixed-line telecommunication services that have been comatose and will benefit our broadband initiative,” Juwah said.
He says the agency wants to provide a “enabling environment” for private investors to expand the country’s broadband infrastructure.
With Africa’s largest population of more than 160 million, Nigeria’s telephone users dramatically increased over the past decade. According to published NCC data, users grew from under a million in 2000 to over 90 million by the end of 2011.
Zooming out, fixed-line telephone users make up less than 1% of the total number, leaving room for growth in broadband communication as demand increases for data services, the NCC CEO said.
David Eto
