Our chart today draws on broadband data from the Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC), The data shows a modest uptick in broadband internet subscriptions in November ’22. There has been a steady increase in Nigeria’s broadband internet connections since October ’21, except for the slight decline in February ’22. The increased broadband connections has been supported by the government’s implementation of the National Broadband Plan (NBP 2020-2025), which seeks to cover 90% of Nigeria’s population, as well as attain broadband penetration of 70% by 2025.

According to the data, total broadband connections grew by 2% m/m and 16% y/y to approximately 88 million in November ’22.

This represents a penetration rate of 46.2% compared with 45.6% the previous month.  

It implies that Nigeria has a penetration gap of 23.8% to its broadband target of 70% by 2025.  

However, current growth rates of new internet connections cast doubts on achieving the 2025 target.

According to the NCC, mobile internet connection accounts for over 99% of Nigeria’s broadband base.

Going by data from the World Bank, Nigeria’s fixed broadband connections pales in comparison to some peers; Nigeria had 66,000 fixed broadband connections in 2021, compared with 1.6m and 10.9m for South Africa and Egypt respectively.

This reflects also in the broadband penetration rate; Nigeria’s broadband penetration rate of 36% trails that of South Africa and Egypt with penetration rates of 70% and 72% respectively, according to data from the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).

We expect the steady growth in broadband services to continue to support data revenue of telcos, and further boost ICT GDP.