Nigeria Used 42.12% More Internet Since July 2019, Says NCC |The Source

By Uche Mbah

For the year ending July 2020, Nigerians has used 42.12 percent more internet than they did within the previous year, the National communications commission has said.

The use of the internet in a localized area is referred to as broadband penetration in technical terms.

Data from the NCC indicate that subscription to the internet hit 80.2 million within the year under review, which amounted to 42.2 percent, more than the 30% increase the previous year.

By August last year, the broadband penetration was 35.19 percent, which amounted to 67 million subscribers.

Data from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) showed that as of August last year, broadband penetration was 35.10 percent, with a total number of 67 million subscriptions.

The first quarter of this year was faced with the COVID 19 pandemic. There was a lockdown by the government, which made many people to work from home. Many were forced to rethink online entrepreneurship in the wake of economic hardship.

This was alleged to account for the upsurge in the broadband penetration. Which stood at stood at 31.48 percent two years ago, but it rose to 32.34 percent last year in January, and 33.08 percent. It rose to 33.22 percent by February 2019.

Chairman of the Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), Gbenga Adebayo reportedly said the steady growth of broadband penetration in the past 20 months is due to the increase in the demand for broadband service.

Experts are of the opinion that the government may not have been doing enough in terms of providing the necessary infrastructure for the telecom industry. Most of the infrastructural developments are done by telecom firms and service providers, and this has impacted negatively on broadband penetration. Increased use of meeting applications like zoom by companies and individuals within the preferred period also helped to account for the rise in penetration.

High broadband tariff has become the major hindrance to the industry that is fast gaining ground as a gateway towards virtual globalization.