NCC Forum Pushes Coordinated Investment in Nigeria’s Digital Infrastructure

NCC Forum Pushes Coordinated Investment in Nigeria’s Digital Infrastructure

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), in partnership with Swedfund and Ookla, has called for coordinated action to accelerate investment in Nigeria’s digital infrastructure and expand meaningful connectivity across the country.

The call was contained in the communiqué issued at the end of the Nigeria Digital Connectivity Investment Forum 2026, held in Abuja from September 29 to 30, under the theme, “Unlocking Infrastructure Investment through Data, Transparency and Partnerships.”

The forum brought together government officials, regulators, development finance institutions, investment banks, institutional investors, telecommunications operators, infrastructure companies, technology providers and other industry stakeholders to examine barriers to digital infrastructure deployment and financing.

Participants noted that Nigeria’s demand for digital services is rising rapidly, with the country consuming about 1.6 million terabytes of data in July 2026, representing an increase of almost 47 per cent over 12 months.

The communiqué also noted that telecommunications and information services accounted for 9.72 per cent of Nigeria’s real GDP in the second quarter of 2026, underscoring the growing importance of digital connectivity to economic activity.

However, stakeholders observed that while mobile broadband coverage has reached about 90 per cent of Nigerians, smartphone ownership remains at about 27 per cent, while broadband penetration stands at 57.4 per cent against a 70 per cent target.

According to the participants, affordability of devices, digital skills and trust are increasingly important constraints to meaningful connectivity, beyond network coverage alone.

The forum further identified power supply and middle-mile connectivity as major constraints to digital infrastructure deployment, particularly outside major metropolitan centres.

Participants therefore recommended coordinated investment in energy and connectivity infrastructure, including the recognition of telecommunications tower clusters as potential anchor off-takers for distributed power generation.

The forum also highlighted the importance of long-term financing, noting that digital infrastructure assets typically have a lifespan of 20 to 30 years and require financing structures that better match their asset life.

Stakeholders Back Fibre, Power and Regulatory Reforms

The Federal Government was urged to accelerate Project BRIDGE, the proposed 90,000-kilometre national fibre backbone, as a strategic response to the country’s middle-mile connectivity gap.

It was also urged to improve the availability and reliability of power for digital infrastructure, maintain policy consistency and support financing mechanisms capable of reducing the cost of capital in the sector.

The NCC, for its part, was encouraged to sustain reforms aimed at improving the investment environment, including tariff realignment, designation of critical national information infrastructure and engagement with states on Right of Way issues.

The Commission was also urged to publish the first national Nigeria Digital Connectivity Index report, advance open-access and wholesale regulation, and finalise the direct-to-device framework.

State governments were encouraged to harmonise and reduce Right of Way and site permit charges, adopt the Federal model requiring operators laying fibre to reinstate roads, and shorten permitting timelines.

Operators and technology companies were urged to expand shared-infrastructure and neutral-host models, particularly for rural and indoor coverage, while pairing network expansion with measures that improve access to affordable devices and locally manufactured SIMs and devices.

Investors and development finance institutions were encouraged to provide long-tenor naira financing for long-life digital assets and consider blended finance and credit-enhancement mechanisms for projects that are not yet commercially ready.

Forum Sets Investment Priorities

The communiqué outlined a number of priority actions.

Within six months, stakeholders are expected to work towards securing funding for community-owned rural networks powered by renewable energy in communities with no connectivity, through partnerships involving the Universal Service Provision Fund, state governments and the Rural Electrification Agency.

Within six to 18 months, priorities include issuing open-access and wholesale regulations, publishing a wholesale rate card, completing broadband mapping and strengthening the Universal Service Fund as a key financing source for underserved areas.

Other priorities include developing business cases for indoor connectivity in commercial buildings and incorporating data-centre requirements into the National Broadband Plan, alongside renewable and off-grid power solutions supported by blended finance.

Within 18 to 24 months, participants proposed establishing a financing framework for telecommunications power, standardising energy provision through regulation and integrating telecommunications power infrastructure into critical national information infrastructure protection.

They also recommended developing metro and access fibre under concession arrangements, mapped against existing infrastructure and integrated with Project BRIDGE.

The forum concluded that the major challenges facing digital infrastructure investment—including financing costs and tenor, Right of Way and permitting constraints, unreliable power supply and gaps in trusted infrastructure data—are interconnected and require coordinated action.

The NCC said it would sustain engagement with participants and other stakeholders to advance the agreed investment priorities and partnership pathways.