NCC Executive Vice-Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Aminu Maida disclosed this on Tuesday at the Nigeria Digital Connectivity Investment Forum in Abuja, where government officials, investors, development finance institutions and industry operators explored funding opportunities for the country’s digital infrastructure.
The forum was organised in partnership with Swedfund and Ookla.
Maida said Nigerians consumed about 1.66 million terabytes of data in July 2026, compared with 1.13 million terabytes in July 2025, an increase of almost 47 per cent.
He said sustained investment was required both to expand network capacity and improve service quality for existing subscribers.
Maida added that the growing use of cloud services and artificial intelligence would place further demands on telecommunications networks, making reliable connectivity increasingly important to businesses and consumers.
He said the NCC had introduced measures to improve the investment climate, including the 2025 tariff adjustment, which addressed financial pressures facing operators and their capacity to invest, with the expectation of better services.
The commission was also working with state governments on Right of Way issues and implementing the designation of telecommunications infrastructure as Critical National Information Infrastructure to protect telecoms assets and reduce deployment costs.
According to Maida, the regulator uses network performance data and consumer complaints to identify service gaps and areas requiring additional investment.
He said evidence-based regulation would give investors a clearer understanding of market opportunities and increase confidence in the decisions guiding the sector.
In her keynote address, the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Jumoke Oduwole, said digital connectivity had become essential economic infrastructure for trade and investment.
Oduwole disclosed that the telecommunications sector accounted for more than nine per cent of Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product in the first quarter of 2026, while mobile technologies and services contributed about $240bn to Africa’s economy in 2025.
She also said Nigeria had more than 25 data centres operational or under construction, highlighting the expansion of digital infrastructure and opportunities for investors.
The minister identified data centres, cloud services, fibre networks, broadband, financial technology, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence and digital logistics as areas with investment potential.
She stressed the importance of predictable policies and coordination among regulators to support investment in the digital economy.
The Swedish Ambassador to Nigeria, Anna Westerholm, said gaps persisted in network coverage, service quality, affordability and supporting infrastructure despite progress in expanding connectivity.
She said reliable data could help reduce uncertainty, strengthen investor confidence and identify areas where additional investment would have the greatest impact.
Westerholm also stressed that data collection alone was insufficient without using the information to improve decisions and deliver practical outcomes.
The Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Bosun Tijani, represented by the Director of the National Frequency Management Council Secretariat, Adetunji Adeyemo, said the government could not meet the country’s digital infrastructure needs alone.
He called for stronger public-private partnerships, innovative financing arrangements and development finance to expand connectivity.
Adeyemo said reliable and transparent data would help investors assess asset demand, understand market opportunities and develop projects that were commercially viable while delivering developmental benefits.
The forum brought together public and private sector stakeholders to examine ways of mobilising capital for infrastructure needed to support Nigeria’s growing digital economy.
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