Nigeria must turn digital infrastructure into economic productivity, says NCC boss

….Calls for more data centres, wholesale broadband market and policy reforms to drive shared prosperity

 

Nigeria’s next phase of economic growth will depend less on expanding internet access and more on using digital infrastructure to transform businesses, create jobs and improve productivity across key sectors, according to Aminu Maida, executive vice chairman and chief executive officer of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).

Speaking at Business Day’s annual 14th CEO Forum during a panel session titled “Technology, Wellbeing and Workforce Efficiency”. The panel session examined how artificial intelligence, digital infrastructure, healthcare access, and organisational well-being must collectively pivot to rescue and build a competitive, future-ready workforce.

Maida said the country has reached a stage where the focus should move beyond increasing telecommunications penetration to ensuring that digital infrastructure delivers measurable economic value.

According to him, the telecommunications sector has largely laid the foundation for connectivity, but Nigeria must now leverage that infrastructure to modernise industries such as healthcare, agriculture, education and manufacturing.

Rather than creating entirely new industries, Maida said the priority should be using technology to transform existing ones.

“It is not necessarily about creating a new industry; it is about business transformation of these industries. The next frontier for us is how we turn that into productivity for the economy,” he said.

Read also: Nigeria risks digital exclusion without reliable infrastructure, FG tells stakeholders

Data centres, fibre expansion critical

Maida identified investment in large-scale digital infrastructure as the next major requirement for Nigeria’s digital economy.

He said the country needs significantly more data centres to support growing demand for digital services while strengthening local data storage capacity.

According to him, although fibre optic infrastructure already covers much of the country, the next challenge is extending fibre connectivity directly into homes, offices and commercial buildings to improve service quality and enable digital businesses to thrive.

He noted that stronger digital infrastructure would position Nigeria to take advantage of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), cloud computing and data-driven services.

NCC plans wholesale broadband market

Addressing concerns over digital inclusion and data sovereignty, Maida acknowledged that connectivity remains uneven despite the expansion of telecommunications infrastructure.

He explained that the challenge is no longer simply building networks but ensuring fair and affordable access to backbone infrastructure.

To tackle this, he disclosed that the NCC is working on a framework to establish a wholesale broadband market that would introduce transparent pricing and encourage greater competition among operators.

“We’re working on a study to create a wholesale market with a transparent and fair pricing mechanism so that anybody who needs access to backbone infrastructure can do so,” he said.

According to him, the initiative is expected to reduce barriers to market entry, lower broadband costs and improve access, particularly in underserved areas.

He explained that competition has already demonstrated its benefits in Lagos, where multiple operators have helped narrow affordability gaps.

“If you look at Lagos, affordability is better simply because there is competition and there are alternatives,” he said. “I believe that by creating this wholesale market, we will improve the situation for everyone.”

Read also: NCC targets fresh digital infrastructure investment as telecom forum focuses on sector survival

Balancing affordability with commercial realities

Responding to concerns about the affordability of digital infrastructure for sectors such as healthcare, education and agriculture, Maida said regulators must strike a balance between promoting competition and ensuring operators remain commercially viable.

While telecommunications companies naturally seek returns on investment, he noted that government also has a responsibility to promote universal access through regulatory interventions.

“We use regulation to drive the market towards efficiency, but because of the nature of the market there are still areas where operators want to make their returns. That is why universal service remains important,” he said.

He described the wholesale broadband framework as an important first step towards narrowing regional disparities in digital access.

Continuous reforms needed

Maida called for sustained policy reforms to keep pace with the rapidly changing digital economy, noting that the telecommunications industry has evolved from simply connecting people through voice services to enabling machine-to-machine communication and powering digital transformation across virtually every sector.

Using the recent review of telecommunications policy as an example, he said the government must continue updating regulations to reflect technological change and encourage collaboration among stakeholders.

“Twenty years ago, telecommunications was really about getting people to talk. Today, it is about connecting machines and transforming other sectors,” he said.

He added that future reforms should adopt a whole-of-government approach, with regulators, policymakers and the private sector working together to build a competitive digital economy and transforming every sector of the economy.”