The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) says Nigeria has ranked as the 7th country in the global usage of mobile phones and 11th in terms of internet penetration.

NCC Executive Vice-Chairman, Umar Danbatta, made this known in Abuja on Thursday, at the 'Emerging Technology Forum' for stakeholders in the telecommunications industry.

According to Danbatta, the worldwide data gathered by the Network Readiness Index (NRI) team demonstrated that digital transformation was a global need in order to optimise the social and economic effects of the digital era.

Danbatta was represented by the Head, Spectrum Database Management of the Commission, Abraham Oshadami, and stated that the NRI evaluated the performance of 131 economies under technology (infrastructure), people, governance and effect.

NRI is a guiding metric that measures the role and impact of information and communication technology (ICT).

He said, "Nigeria is a telecommunications powerhouse, accounting for 82 per cent of the continent's telecom subscribers and 29 per cent of the continent's internet consumption.

"Our country ranks eleventh in the world for internet penetration and seventh in mobile phone usage.

"The NRI team's global data shows that digital transformation is a global imperative for maximising the social and economic effects of the digital era.

"Despite these remarkable metrics, our Network Readiness Index ranking for 2022 of 109th out of 131 countries is both humbling and challenging."

For him, navigating the era of transformation, requires innovation, strategic investments, and a growth-friendly ecosystem.