Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa, Brazil and parts of Asia have been identified as large markets with huge potential to attract digital infrastructure projects, but remain untapped markets for fibre optics investments.
This was contained in findings of a joint study by Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and EDHECinfra, a venture of the renowned international EDHEC Business School, published recently.
The choice of these markets, according to the report, can be linked to uncertain economic growth that has made fibre penetration levels uneven despite a clear demand for fibre infrastructure projects.
In the new report entitled “Infrastructure Strategy 2022: A pivot to the digital frontier,” Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and EDHECinfra provide a new perspective on the investment strategies and risk-adjusted performance of different groups of infrastructure investors.
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“Although demand for fibre optic projects is most pronounced in less-wealthy economies—large and diverse regions with significant potential, such as Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa, Brazil, and parts of Asia are untapped markets—fibre penetration is also uneven in places where economic growth is less uncertain,” the report states.
The study points out that the increasing desire for higher speeds and reliable online access will inevitably lead to a huge expansion of fibre optic installations in new networks in low- and middle-income nations as well as in existing networks in higher-income countries. Ultimately, fibre, which has already begun to make inroads in networks everywhere, will replace legacy (primarily copper) infrastructure completely, particularly as 5G rolls out.
Commenting on the findings of the study, Stefano Niavas, managing director and partner, BCG Nigeria, says, “Fibre optic investment is required to expand the capacity of the undersea cable infrastructure on the shores of Nigeria beyond the cities to other regions of the country in order to make connectivity truly ubiquitous.
