Lagos, Ogun, Kano, Oyo, and the Federal Capital Territory were the top five states with mobile Internet subscriptions in Nigeria in 2022.
 
Collectively, the five states accounted for 33.52 per cent (51.90 million) of the total number of mobile subscriptions (154.85 million) in the country in 2022, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics.
 
More details at:
https://punchng.com/lagos-ogun-kano-lead-nigerias-internet-growth-nbs 

The National Bureau of Statistics has disclosed that Nigeria’s internet users grew to 154.8 million in the fourth quarter of 2022.
 
The increase portrayed 9.07 per cent from 141,971,560 in Q4 of 2021.
 
It added that the number of active voice subscribers in Q4 2022 rose to “222,571,568 from the 195,463,898 reported in Q4 2021″, which indicates an expansion rate of 13.87 per cent.
 
However, the bureau noted that voice subscribers grew by 4.89 per cent on a quarter-on-quarter basis.
 
More details at:
https://punchng.com/internet-users-in-nigeria-rose-to-154m-in-q4-2022 

Mobile money account ownership grew from 16 per cent in 2021 to 22 per cent in 2022, GSMA has stated.
 
According to the global body representing telecommunication firms, the recent Payment Service Bank licence granted to MTN and Airtel by the Central Bank of Nigeria is responsible for the growth.
 
A report titled, ‘The State of the Industry Report on Mobile Money 2023,’ said, “Among all adults that are aware of mobile money and have used a mobile phone, mobile money account ownership has grown from 16 per cent to 22 per cent in the last year.
 
“Of all adults with a mobile money account, 88 per cent have one registered in their own name (a nine percentage point increase year on year).”
 
More details at:
https://punchng.com/nigerian-mobile-money-accounts-grow-by-22-says-gsma
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Increased 5G rollout and 4G expansion improved foreign investments into the telecommunications sector by 325.12 per cent in 2022.
 
The capital importation data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed that telecoms attracted $456.82 million in 2022, compared to $107.46 million that was attracted in 2021.
 
This is as the sector continued to retain its foreign investment appeal despite the country’s challenging economic environment.
 
Though telecoms recorded an increase in foreign investments in 2022, the total foreign investments into the country fell by 20.47 per cent or $1.37 billion from $6.7 billion in 2021 to $5.33 billion in 2022.
 
More details at:
https://punchng.com/5g-boosted-telecoms-foreign-investment-by-325-nbs 

As new-generation of networks continue to spread across the country, the use of new tech networks is growing. As indicated by the latest data released by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), more subscribers are embracing 4G and 5G networks, which now account for 58.9 per cent of the total internet subscriptions in the country.
 
In February 2023, total internet subscriptions in the country, which are subscriptions for 2G, 3G, 4G, and 5G internet service, increased to 156.9 million. This shows that 92,414,100 subscribers are on 4G and 5G networks. Broadband subscriptions rose in February 2023 to 92.5 million, pushing the country’s broadband penetration to 48.49 per cent. Subscriptions to high-speed internet, otherwise known as broadband, rose to 92.5 million in February 2023, according to the NCC data.
 
More details at:
https://www.newtelegraphng.com/4g-5g-networks-account-for-58-9-of-internet-connections-in-nigeria
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Mobile subscriptions have risen by 4.61 million to hit 226.84 million in 2022, according to new industry statistics from the Nigerian Communications Commission.
 
This follows the trend of sustained growth in the telecommunications sector that has been recorded since 2022. In February 2023, the total number of mobile subscriptions rose to 226.84 million from the 225.88 million that was recorded in January 2022.
 
Teledensity, the number of active telephone connections per 100 inhabitants living within an area, rose to 119.01 per cent in February. Mobile Internet subscriptions grew to 156.42 million, with broadband penetration rising to 48.49 per cent and subscriptions hitting 92.56 million.
 
More details at:
https://punchng.com/mobile-subscriptions-rise-to-226-million
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The Federal Government has announced the removal of its proposed five per cent excise duty on telecommunication services.
 
The government announced that this was in line with the recommendations of a committee, the Presidential Review Committee on Excise Duty in the Digital Economy Sector, which was constituted to review the implementation of excise duty in the telecom sector.
 
Pantami stated that the telecoms sector was already paying 41 categories of taxes, levies, and charges. He added, “There is no need for excise duty in the telecom sector because the industry is already heavily taxed up to 41 taxes. The sector has been contributing hugely to Nigeria’s economy; more tax burden destroys the industry.
 
“We increased revenue generated by 594 per cent from $110.8 million quarterly to $1 billion quarterly. This is the only sector where the prices of services have been reduced. here is no justification for the government to impose more burden on its poor citizens.”
 
More details at:
https://punchng.com/fg-removes-5-tax-on-calls-data
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In Nigeria and other African countries, 83 per cent of the total population live within areas covered by mobile internet but, only 22 per cent use the internet. This was revealed in the 2022 Internet Connectivity report published by GSM Association (GSMA). According to the Association, the reason people are not using the internet is that they cannot afford internet-enabled devices or, if they have them, the internet bundles needed to use the devices.
 
“A lot of these people who do not use the internet, however, use 2/3G devices to make phone calls and send or receive text messages. This basic access to 2/3G connectivity is the only reason they are included in the mobile digital economy. It is how the shopkeeper in Nairobi is able to send money via M-Pesa to his family in the Rift Valley.
 
But there is a new problem with this picture. “Globally the legacy connectivity technology on which this digital economy is built is being replaced by newer technologies and new patterns of digital consumption. Bigger economies are shutting down 2/3G networks and even some African countries, like South Africa, want them gone as early as 2024, in favour of deeper 4G and 5G wireless coverage.
 
More details at:
https://www.newtelegraphng.com/report-22-africas-mobile-broadband-covered-population-use-internet 

Fifth-generation technology rollout and investment in communication infrastructure increased foreign investments into the telecommunication sector by 129.21 per cent in the first 11 months of 2022, according to capital importation data from the Central Bank of Nigeria.
 
Capital importation into the telecom sector was $174.47m from January to November 2021. It jumped to $399.91m in the corresponding period of 2022.
 
More details at:
https://punchng.com/5g-rollout-raises-telecom-foreign-investment-by-129
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Nigeria’s digital economy space has recorded over $4.4 billion in investments because of strategic collaborations and programmes. The Director-General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Inuwa, disclosed this in Abuja, at a stakeholders briefing organised by the Ministry of Women Affairs in commemoration of the 2023 International Women’s Day with the theme: ‘DigitALL: Innovation and Technology for Gender Equality.”
 
Represented by his Special Assistant on Strategy and Innovation, Mrs. Iklima Musa Salihu, Inuwa stated in 2021, the United Nations (UN) estimated that Nigeria’s female population was 104 million, as Africa’s largest economy, Nigeria has much to gain by facilitating inclusion of women in technology industries and bridging the digital divide.
 
According to him, “NITDA has over the years been implementing several strategic programmes and initiatives, which have seen an investment of $4.4 billion in the last four years.”
 
More details at:
https://guardian.ng/business-services/nigerias-digital-economy-sees-4-4-billion-investment-in-four-years
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