Nigeria’s rising data demand prompts NCC call for telecom investment
Nigeria’s telecom regulator has urged fresh investment in digital infrastructure after national data consumption rose by nearly 47% in a year. The NCC said expanding networks and improving existing services would require sustained financing, while officials and investors examined opportunities in connectivity, cloud services, data centres and other digital sectors.
Nigeria’s telecoms regulator has called for increased investment in digital infrastructure after data consumption rose by almost 47 per cent in one year. Aminu Maida, executive vice-chairman and chief executive of the Nigerian Communications Commission, made the appeal on Tuesday at the Nigeria Digital Connectivity Investment Forum in Abuja. Maida said Nigerians consumed about 1.66 million terabytes of data in July 2026, compared with 1.13 million terabytes in July 2025.
He said the increase showed the need for sustained investment to expand networks and improve services for existing users. The forum, organised with Swedfund and Ookla, brought together government officials, investors, development finance institutions and industry operators to discuss financing opportunities for Nigeria’s digital infrastructure. Maida said pressure on telecom networks was likely to grow as cloud services and artificial intelligence became more widely used.
He said the NCC was improving investment conditions through measures including the 2025 tariff adjustment, which addressed financial pressures on operators and their ability to invest. He also cited the designation of telecommunications infrastructure as Critical National Information Infrastructure and discussions with state governments on rights of way. According to Maida, the regulator was using network performance data and consumer complaints to identify service gaps and areas needing investment.
Industry, Trade and Investment Minister Jumoke Oduwole said telecommunications accounted for more than nine per cent of Nigeria’s gross domestic product in the first quarter of 2026. She identified data centres, cloud services, fibre, broadband, fintech, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence and digital logistics as investment opportunities. Communications Minister Bosun Tijani, represented by Adetunji Adeyemo, said government could not meet the country’s digital infrastructure needs alone and called for stronger public-private partnerships, innovative financing and development finance.
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