Nigeria’s Communications Commission (NCC) says the number of active mobile subscribers have increased and reached 222.571 million, while internet subscribers have exceeded 154.8 million as at December 2022.
The Executive Vice Chairman of the NCC, Professor Umar Danbatta disclosed this at the ongoing 44th Kaduna International Trade Fair in Kaduna.
Represented by Banji Ojo, Head, of Consumer Protection and Advocacy, he said the commission recognizes the fact that the telecommunications sector has been a strategic driver of the digital economy agenda of the Federal Government, as it continues to provide the needed digital stamina to support the economy, especially the activities of the SMEs across in Nigeria and beyond.
“Information Communications Technology (ICT) is not only one of the fastest growing industries – directly creating millions of jobs – but it is also an important enabler of innovation and development, as it provides the backbone infrastructure for transnational business.”
According to Professor Danbatta, in line with the Digital Literacy and Skills Pillar of the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS) 2020-2030, for a Digital Nigeria, the Commission embarked on digital literacy training for entrepreneurs across the six geopolitical zones of the country.“The aim was to equip small-scale business owners with the requisite skills and to generate ideas for the development of products and services that can be exported.”
He also noted that NCC’s regulatory efforts in deepening access to digital services will benefit Nigeria and make it competitive compared with other economies in the areas of job creation; contribution to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth; the emergence of new services and industries; workforce transformation; and business innovation.
“It is in our response to ensuring that Nigeria is competitive in all these areas that Commission continuously puts a number of regulatory measures in place to ensure seamless access by Nigerians to telecommunications services in order to deepen competitiveness of the Nigerian economy by making our SMEs digitally compliant.
“In Nigeria today, the number of active mobile subscriptions reached about 222,571 million of December 2022 and Teledensity of 116.60 per cent as of December 2022.
“Also, Internet subscribers have exceeded 154.8 million with broadband penetration standing at 47.36 per cent as of December 2022.
“As you may be aware, the NCC is driving initiatives for a full commercial launch of the Fifth Generation (5G) network in Nigeria. Already, spectrum licences for the companies that will roll out service have been issued,” he said.
