Nigeria's Telecoms To Increase To $42 billion

NCC

Nigeria’s telecoms investment profile is poised to increase to $42 billion in the next four years as the Nigerian Communications Commission continues to woo foreign investors to the country’s broadband sector, New Telegraph has learnt. This was the highlight of a critical Nigeria Day session held with existing and potential investors by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) at the on-going International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Telecom World 2015 at Budapest, Hungary.
With over $32 billion investment already recorded in the sector, government officials say that Nigeria’s telecoms industry provides huge investment opportunities for local and particularly foreign investors with adequate protection for their investments. Broadband has been identified as the next growth frontier for Nigeria’s telecoms market, currently rated as the fastestgrowing in the world.
Already, both Chinese and European telecoms investors are coming to Nigeria for the purpose of participating in the next phase of telecoms investment in the country, according to the Secretary General of ITU, Mr. Houlin Zhao, in his remarks at the Nigeria Day event. “Nigeria and other African nations today are not looking for charity; they are looking for partnership and investment opportunities to grow their telecoms sector.
“Chinese and European companies are coming to Nigeria, as my discussions recently with some investors have indicated. I would encourage Nigeria to work harder to lure these potential investors into your country, which is the largest African country. ITU can also be of assistance to you in facilitatin this partnership with foreign investors,” he said. Zhao also noted that the fact that Nigeria is now championing 4G broadband when most developed countries still grapple with 2G is an indication of penchant for increased investment inflow by the country’s regulator. He noted that Nigeria is rich in talents and expertise. Speaking earlier, the Executive Chairman of NCC, Prof. Umar Danbatta, said that with over 150 million subscribers, over 107 per cent teledensity, over 90 million Internet users and an increase in telecoms investment from $50 million to $32 billion between 2001 and 2015, “getting more investment into the industry is a very vital area for the industry.”

He noted that the current administration of President Muhammadu Buhari has come with zero tolerance to corruption, which, he said, is inimical to investment, saying that the regulator is also making policies that ensure protection for telecoms investment and guarantee better Return on Investment (ROI) for investors. “If you are an Information and Communication Technology company, Nigeria is a place to be and I can tell you that your investment is secured,” said Danbatta, who was represented at the event by an Executive Commission, Technical Services, Ubale Maska. According to him, local and international investors were needed to help deepen ubiquitous broadband, where the over 10 terabyte of undersea cable capacity in the country can be deployed for the country’s economic development. “We currently have over 30,000km of inter-city fibre optic cables laid, but this is inadequate without adequate metro fibre and this presents a huge investment opportunity.
While noting that many spectrum licenses had been issued in recent past, Danbatta said: “We are ready to open up our broadband market as new licenses will soon be issued on broadband in a transparent manner.” Also speaking at the forum, Nigeria’s Ambassador to Hungary, Alhaji Muhammadu Yunusa, said that his mission would increase collaboration with European investors to woo them into bringing their investment to Nigeria. “We have good policy on investment through the guidelines provided by the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC).
Investors are assured of higher RoI because we have the population and their investments are also secured,” he said. Managing Director, Nigerian Communication Satellite Limited, Mrs. Abimbola Alale, said that her company was established to champion broadband growth, saying that satellite technology will provide broadband links to people who could not be reached with fibre cables.