Nigeria’s Digital Data Demand Rises 47% as NCC Forum Calls for Fresh Infrastructure Investment

By Pan Afric Reporters

Nigeria’s rapidly growing digital demand is putting increasing pressure on the country’s telecommunications infrastructure, with data consumption rising by almost 47 per cent in one year, prompting calls for stronger investment in fibre, power, devices and digital infrastructure.

The development was contained in the communiqué of the Nigeria Digital Connectivity Investment Forum 2026, convened by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) in partnership with Swedfund and Ookla in Abuja from September 29 to 30, 2026. The communiqué was signed by Nnenna Ukoha, Director, Public Affairs Department, NCC.

Held under the theme, “Unlocking Infrastructure Investment through Data, Transparency and Partnerships,” the Forum brought together government officials, regulators, development finance institutions, investors, mobile network operators, infrastructure companies, technology firms and industry associations to examine barriers to digital infrastructure deployment and financing.

Participants noted that Nigeria consumed about 1.6 million terabytes of data in July 2026, representing an increase of almost 47 per cent in 12 months, while mobile subscriptions are projected to rise from about 195 million to 350 million within the next 10 to 15 years.

The Forum warned that emerging technologies, particularly cloud computing and artificial intelligence, would place additional demands on telecommunications networks, data centres and power infrastructure.

Participants also identified digital connectivity as critical economic infrastructure, noting that telecommunications and information services accounted for 9.72 per cent of Nigeria’s real GDP in the second quarter of 2026.

The Forum, however, observed that the major challenge was increasingly shifting from network coverage to actual usage, with mobile broadband covering about 90 per cent of Nigerians, while smartphone ownership stood at about 27 per cent and broadband penetration at 57.4 per cent against a 70 per cent target.

According to the communiqué, device affordability, digital skills and trust have become major constraints, meaning that expanding network coverage alone would not be sufficient to close Nigeria’s digital divide.

The Forum also identified power and middle-mile connectivity as major constraints to digital infrastructure deployment, particularly for tower companies, data centres and internet service providers outside major metropolitan areas.

It recommended that energy and connectivity investments be planned together, with tower clusters considered potential anchor off-takers for distributed power generation.

On financing, participants stressed that digital infrastructure assets typically have a lifespan of between 20 and 30 years and therefore require long-term financing rather than short five-year bank tenors.

The Forum noted that infrastructure financing in Nigeria had increased from less than ₦70 billion in 2004 to ₦19.4 trillion in 2025, but stressed that access to capital remained dependent on governance, management capacity and policy predictability.

Participants further identified state-level policies as a major determinant of the pace of digital infrastructure deployment, noting that Right of Way reforms in some states had translated into fibre growth of between 22 per cent and 95 per cent.

The Forum disclosed that 12 states now charge zero Right of Way fees, compared with seven in December 2024.

In its recommendations, the Forum called on the Federal Government to accelerate Project BRIDGE, the proposed 90,000-kilometre national fibre backbone, as a strategic response to the middle-mile connectivity gap.

It also urged government 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 was urged to sustain reforms aimed at improving investment conditions, including tariff realignment, the designation of telecommunications infrastructure as Critical National Information Infrastructure and continued engagement with states on Right of Way reforms.

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 reduce and harmonise Right of Way and site permit charges, adopt the Federal model requiring operators that lay fibre to reinstate affected roads and shorten permitting timelines.

Investors and development finance institutions, meanwhile, were urged to match long-life digital infrastructure assets with long-tenor naira capital, link infrastructure funding to independently verified network performance and deploy blended financing and credit-enhancement mechanisms for projects that are not yet commercially ready.

Among the immediate priorities agreed by participants is securing funding within six months for community-owned rural networks powered by renewable energy in zero-connectivity communities, in partnership with the Universal Service Provision Fund, state governments and the Rural Electrification Agency.

Within six to 18 months, participants called for open-access and wholesale regulations, publication of a wholesale rate card, completion of broadband mapping and stronger regulatory backing for the Universal Service Fund as the primary financing source for underserved-area projects.

The Forum also proposed developing a business case for indoor connectivity in commercial buildings, incorporating data-centre requirements into the National Broadband Plan and pairing renewable or off-grid power solutions with blended financing.

Within 18 to 24 months, participants recommended the establishment of a financing framework for telecommunications power, including standardised energy provision through regulation and its integration into Critical National Information Infrastructure protection.

They also proposed developing metro and access fibre through concessions, mapped against existing infrastructure and integrated with Project BRIDGE.

The NCC said it would sustain engagement with participants and other relevant stakeholders to advance the agreed actions and investment pathways, stressing that the challenges identified at the Forum—financing costs and tenor, Right of Way and permitting constraints, unreliable power and gaps in trusted infrastructure data—are interconnected and require coordinated action.

The communiqué followed presentations and discussions featuring investment and financial sector leaders, including Bolaji Balogun, Chief Executive Officer of Chapel Hill Denham, and Bismarck Rewane, Chairman of FCMB and Managing Director of Financial Derivatives Company, who provided perspectives on financing structures, investor confidence, policy predictability and the role of digital infrastructure in economic growth.