NCC Forum Calls for Urgent Investment in Digital Infrastructure, Power, Fibre

Oru Leonard 

Stakeholders in Nigeria’s telecommunications and digital economy sectors have called for urgent investment in fibre infrastructure, reliable power supply and long-term financing to bridge the country’s digital connectivity gaps and support growing data demand.

The call was contained in a communiqué issued at the end of the Nigeria Digital Connectivity Investment Forum 2026, organised by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), in partnership with Swedfund and Ookla, in Abuja.

The two-day forum, held from September 29 to 30, with the theme, “Unlocking Infrastructure Investment through Data, Transparency and Partnerships,” brought together government officials, regulators, investors, development finance institutions, mobile network operators, fibre and tower companies, technology providers and other industry stakeholders.

Participants warned that Nigeria’s digital infrastructure must expand rapidly to keep pace with rising demand, noting that the country consumed about 1.6 million terabytes of data in July 2026, representing an increase of almost 47 per cent within 12 months.

They also projected that telecommunications subscriptions could rise from about 195 million to 350 million within the next 10 to 15 years, with cloud computing and artificial intelligence expected to further increase pressure on networks, data centres and power infrastructure.

The forum noted that telecommunications and information services accounted for 9.72 per cent of Nigeria’s real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the second quarter of 2026, underscoring the strategic importance of digital infrastructure to the national economy.

It, however, identified affordability of smartphones, digital skills and trust as major barriers to meaningful connectivity, despite mobile broadband coverage reaching about 90 per cent of the population.

According to the communiqué, smartphone ownership remains at about 27 per cent, while broadband penetration stands at 57.4 per cent against a national target of 70 per cent.

The stakeholders consequently stressed that expanding network coverage alone would not be sufficient to close Nigeria’s digital divide without ensuring that citizens have access to affordable devices and the skills required to use digital services.

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

It called for energy and connectivity investments to be planned together, while tower clusters should be considered as anchor off-takers for distributed power generation.

On financing, the stakeholders observed that digital infrastructure assets typically have a lifespan of between 20 and 30 years and therefore require long-term capital rather than short-term bank financing.

They noted that infrastructure financing in Nigeria had increased from less than N70 billion in 2004 to N19.4 trillion in 2025, but stressed that access to long-term capital would depend on improved governance, management capacity, policy consistency and investor confidence.

The forum further highlighted the importance of state-level reforms, particularly in the area of Right of Way (RoW) charges and permitting.

It said the pilot of the Nigeria Digital Connectivity Index across 12 states showed that RoW reforms had translated into fibre growth of between 22 per cent and 95 per cent in states implementing reforms, while the number of states charging zero RoW fees had risen from seven in December 2024 to 12.

The forum called on the Federal Government to accelerate the implementation of Project BRIDGE, the planned 90,000-kilometre national fibre backbone, as a strategic response to Nigeria’s middle-mile connectivity deficit.

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

The NCC was urged to sustain reforms aimed at improving the investment environment, including tariff realignment, designation of critical national information infrastructure and engagement with states on RoW issues.

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

State governments, according to the communiqué, should reduce and harmonise RoW and site permit charges, adopt the federal model requiring operators laying fibre to reinstate affected roads and shorten approval timelines.

Operators, infrastructure companies and technology firms were urged to embrace shared infrastructure and neutral-host models to reduce the cost of rural and indoor connectivity.

The stakeholders also called for measures to ensure that coverage investments are matched with access to affordable devices, including locally manufactured smartphones and SIM cards.

Investors and development finance institutions were urged to match long-life digital infrastructure assets with long-tenor naira financing and link infrastructure funding to independently verified network performance.

Forum sets investment priorities

The communiqué outlined a series of priority actions to be implemented within six months to 24 months.

Within six months, stakeholders agreed to pursue funding for community-owned rural networks powered by renewable energy in zero-connectivity communities through partnerships involving the Universal Service Provision Fund, state governments and the Rural Electrification Agency.

Within six to 18 months, stakeholders are expected to advance open-access and wholesale regulations, publish a wholesale rate card, complete broadband mapping and strengthen the regulatory backing of the Universal Service Fund.

The forum also called for the development of business models for indoor connectivity in commercial buildings and the integration of data-centre power requirements into the National Broadband Plan.

Within 18 to 24 months, participants recommended the establishment of a financing framework for telecommunications power and the development of metro and access fibre through concession arrangements integrated with Project BRIDGE.

The forum noted that the challenges of financing, Right of Way and permitting, unreliable power and gaps in trusted infrastructure data were interconnected and could only be addressed through coordinated action by government, regulators, investors, financiers and industry.

The NCC consequently pledged to sustain engagement with stakeholders to advance the identified investment opportunities and action pathways.

The forum was attended by the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, representatives of the Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, the Ambassador of Sweden to Nigeria, heads of federal agencies, development finance institutions, investment banks, institutional investors and major digital infrastructure companies.

Among the prominent speakers were Bolaji Balogun, Chief Executive Officer of Chapel Hill Denham, who addressed financing digital infrastructure, and Bismarck Rewane, Chairman of FCMB and Managing Director of Financial Derivatives Company, who provided perspectives on Nigeria’s economic and financial environment for infrastructure investment.

The communiqué was signed by Nnenna Ukoha, Director, Public Affairs Department, Nigerian Communications Commission, and dated October 4, 2026.