As 2024 winds down, the drivers of telecoms sector have highlighted key issues and challenges that shaped the sector, while raising hopes for better service quality in 2025, writes Emma Okonji
With a deep retrospect into the activities of the telecoms sector in 2024, telecoms operators came to a conclusion that the sector was fraught with challenges that slowed down development in the sector in 2024, a situation, which they said, compelled them to subsidise telecoms service offerings for data and voice calls below cost price that was not sustainable.
Despite the challenges, telecoms operators contributed immensely to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth, job creation, investments, connectivity, quality of service, broadband and internet penetration in 2024.
GDP Growth
Relying on the figures released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) for GDP growth, telecoms operators are of the view that the sector contributed immensely to GDP growth in 2024. According to NBS figures, telecoms contribution to GDP in 2024 stood at 16 per cent, which is quite significant from the scheme of things.
Pleased with the contribution of telecoms to Nigeria's GDP, the Chairman, Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), who doubles as the spokesperson for telecoms operators in Nigeria, Gbenga Adebayo, told THISDAY that the sector contributed immensely to GDP growth adding that there was increased growth of about three per cent in every quarter of 2024.
According to Adebayo, "If you look at the statistics, the telecoms sector had the most-steady contribution to GDP as a sector. I think our contribution has been steady and has been consistent in the past years, in particular between 2023 and 2024. I think the contribution has been steady and that also in no small way, helped in stimulating the economy. Remember that we provide the infrastructure that drives other infrastructure. So in that regard, we can say that we have contributed immensely as a sector to Nigeria's GDP, and the contribution of other sectors to the economy is powered by the telecoms sector."
Job Creation
According to Adebayo, the telecoms industry has done more in terms of indirect employment because a lot of the non-core services in the telecoms sector, has gone into outsourcing, and so the impact of employment creation by outsourced companies supporting telecoms providers and by other sectors, depended on telecoms. He explained that the sector has helped small businesses to grow and that the small businesses have in turn, created employment for several Nigerians.
"I would say we've had more jobs created outside of our sector, relying on the services provided by our sector. So the growth of Fintech, for example, is linked to the existence of the telecoms sector. So if Fintech employs X number of people in a year or in the intervening year, that wouldn't have been possible if you don't have the telecoms infrastructure behind it. Also, the eCommerce sector that has also employed several people, relied greatly on telecoms infrastructure in 2024," Adebayo said.
Telecoms Investment
According to Adebayo, in the year 2024, there was not much investment in the telecoms sector, even though some telecoms operators had major investments that impacted the Nigerian economy in 2024. He said the Licensed Infrastructure Companies (InfraCos), did a lot, both in terms of the expansion of the fiber backbone, including Data Center operators.
"InfraCos did a lot in investment and Data Centers did a lot in investment in 2024, and such investments will boost development in 2025," Adebayo further said.
Connectivity
While reviewing telecoms activities in the area of connectivity, Adebayo said connectivity improved in the year 2024, even though there were pockets of challenges that affected quality of service, such as vandalisation of telecoms infrastructure, denial of access to maintain telecoms sites by social miscreants, among others.
Regulation
Adebayo said telecoms regulation in 2024 was quite commendable. "I must appreciate the leadership of the industry. I must thank those who led the sector in terms of regulation and policy implementation in 2024.
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) did very well in regulating the telecoms sector in 2024 and the Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani, also did well in his business-friendly policies and implementation that helped the growth of the sector in 2024.
The policy on SIM card linkage with the National Identification Number (NIN) of telecoms' subscribers, was concluded this year, after several years of implementation.
"As for the NCC, the interoperability between the various players is decided by the regulator. The rules of engagement are decided by the regulator, and the do's and the don'ts are also decided by the regulator. Again, the fact that there was no significant infraction or significant penalty on any player, was because the regulator was transparent and the operators also complied with the laid down policies," Adebayo said.
Challenges
According to Adebayo, the telecoms sector faced several challenges in 2024, that slowed down development in the sector. He said vandalisation of telecoms infrastructure led to significant revenue losses by operators, both in terms of connectivity and in terms of high cost of operations. "There were severe damages on telecoms' infrastructure, caused by road contractors, which affected connectivity and quality of service in 2024, coupled with theft of diesel and power stations on sites. But I am glad about the passage of the Critical National Information and Infrastructure (CNII) Bill that seeks to protect telecoms infrastructure going forward," Adebayo said.
The biggest challenges we had in 2024 were more about vandalisation, denial of access to site by social miscreants, including site closure by government agencies, and of course, the issue of non-sustainability of telecoms tariff, Adebayo said, adding that telecoms tariff in 2024, was far below cost.
"So I can say that 2024 was actually a year of subsidy where operators subsidised their services for everybody. We provided subsidised services and that is not commendable because it is not sustainable," Adebayo said.
Restoration of Damaged Subsea Cable
This year, precisely March 14, 13 African countries faced internet disruptions, which led to operational downtime for all businesses connected to the internet, including banks, where bank customers could not carry out banking transactions for hours.
Internet Service Providers (ISPs), as well as broadband connectivity providers were completely disconnected from the internet and from the broadband connections, as they could not provide connectivity access to their customers in banks, schools, churches, mosques, business centres, call centres as well as to organisations in different sectors of the economy.
The disruption was caused by multiple cuts in the submarine cable around the coast line of Senegal and Cote d' Ivoire.
The affected 13 countries include: Cote d' Ivoire, Liberia, Benin Republic, Ghana, Burkina Faso, Togo, Cameroon, Gabon, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Lesotho, and parts of South Africa.
Speaking about the restoration process, the CEO, West Indian Ocean Cable Company (WIOCC), Mr. Chris Wood, told THISDAY that 35 networks across West African countries, Nigeria inclusive, were restored to full capacity resilience, few after the cut. adding that it will take another four weeks to fully restore internet services to all network operators that are connected to the affected four submarine cables that came from Europe, with landing points along the West African coast.
According to him, it cost a total of about $2 million to achieve full restoration to a single subsea cable, depending on the extent of the cut on the cable.
This brings it to a total of about $8 million to fix the affected four submarine cables that were affected by the cut.
Nigeria's .ng Domain
The total figure for the registration, renewal and restoration of Nigeria's .ng domain name dropped slightly in July this year to 226,454, after a major leap in the months of May and June this year, which recorded 223,891 and 226,702 respectively.
The statistics was released by the Nigeria Internet Registration Association (NiRA), the body responsible for managing Nigeria's country code Top Level Domain (ccTLD).
According to the statistics, the total .ng domain name registration, renewal and restoration, reached 223,891 in May 2024, and further increased to 226,702 in June 2024, before sliding slightly 226,454 in July 2024.
THISDAY had last month, reported an initial steady growth of Nigeria's .ng domain name, which grew from 212,890 in December 2023 to reach 215,496 in January 2024, before increasing again to 217,527 in February 2024, with a further increase to 220,216 in March 2024, and another increase to 222,820 and 223,891 in April and May 2024 respectively, before reaching 226,702 in June 2024.
Although the summation of .ng domain name includes registration, renewal and restoration, but the latest statistics on Nigeria's .ng domain name as released by NiRA, showed that registration alone reached 8,066 in May 2024, and it increased 8,164 in June 2024, with a further increase to 8,607 in July 2024. The .ng domain name renewal alone was 5,545 in May 2024, and it decreased to 5,028 in June 2024, before increasing to 5,743 in July 2024, while the .ng domain name restoration alone was 140 in May 2024 and it increased further to 142 in June 2024, with a further increase to 209 in July 2024.
The ccTLD .ng domain name is Nigeria's identity in cyberspace, which has the .ng at the suffix of every official email address that originates from Nigeria. In the United Kingdom, official email addresses end with .co.uk. In United States of America, they end with .com, while in South Africa, the official email addresses end with .co.za.
WATRA's Regulatory Framework
In response to the growing challenges posed by the introduction of Non-Geostationary Satellite Orbits (NGSO) services across West Africa, the West Africa Telecommunications Regulators Assembly (WATRA), which Nigeria belongs to, has developed a comprehensive framework aimed at regulating the advanced satellite systems.
During the 21st Annual General Meeting, which held recently in Freetown, Sierra Leone, WATRA resolved to establish an Ad hoc Technical Working Group tasked with developing recommendations to address the regulatory gaps surrounding NGSO services.
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NGSO satellites, which offer significant advancements in connectivity and data transmission, have created both opportunities and challenges for WATRA Member States. While some countries have successfully licensed these services, others are dealing with unauthorised NGSO operations that pose security risks, threaten national investments, and destabilise local telecommunications markets. Recognising the concerns, the newly formed Ad hoc Technical Working Group has proposed a detailed framework designed to guide member states in effectively regulating NGSO services.
The Executive Secretary of WATRA, Aliyu Aboki, highlighted the importance of the recommendations in ensuring a stable and secure telecommunications sector. "The introduction of NGSO services has brought new technological capabilities to the region, but it has also introduced complex regulatory issues that cannot be ignored. This framework is a necessary step to protect the investments of our Member States, ensure national security, and maintain a fair and competitive market," Aboki said.
Support for Indigenous Tech Companies
The Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani, during the year, promised government support for indigenous technology companies, through collaboration.
The minister said this in Lagos, during his visit to Imose Technologies smartphone/tablet factory and the Teesas Learning Centre, one of the 3 Million Technical Talent (3MTT) Applied Learning Clusters (ALC).
Pleased with his on-the-spot assessment of the factory and learning centre, Tijani said the assessment of Imose Technologies factory, would enable the Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy to understand how best it could support indigenous companies to scale.
"We do need companies, businesses that can actually truly build solutions for our people. In the digital economy space, we can't achieve our objectives without local companies. Even as we start to invest in fiber optic network to ensure we can reach all of our people, it's going to be useless if people don't have the devices, such as the phone, the tablets, the laptops to be able to access internet and use it for meaningful purposes. So that's why we need indigenous companies like Imose Technologies and many more out there to understand their pain points and how we can support them so that they can start to truly fully manufacture devices in Nigeria. And that way it can become affordable and our people can have access," Tijani said.
