Poor infrastructure and high phone and internet costs have disconnected 120 million Nigerians from the mobile internet despite a monthly internet usage growth of 501.99 percent over five years, said GSMA, the global body for telcos.
The internet growth has been fuelled by a mobile boom in a country where smartphones are more important than computers. According to the World Bank, less than 20 percent of households in Nigeria owned a computer in 2023.
Adia Sowho, former chief marketing officer of MTN Nigeria, said, “Smartphones have become the computer for many Nigerians today.”
However, gaps in digital infrastructure, particularly in rural areas, coupled with the high cost of smartphones, have left millions excluded from the digital wave. “Unfortunately, the high costs of these devices have made them out of reach for many,” Sowho stated when MTN launched a device financing scheme in 2022.
According to GSMA’s ‘The State of Mobile Internet Connectivity 2024’ report, these 120 million Nigerians are part of the more than 3.1 billion people who do not use mobile internet—and likely don’t use the internet at all—despite coverage being where they live.
In its earlier report on Nigeria in 2024, GSMA noted that about 29 percent of Nigerians (about 58 million) use the internet. GSMA disclosed that 85 percent of Nigerians on the mobile internet use it to make or receive video calls, 75 percent watch free-to-access online videos, and 54 percent listen to free music online.
More people than ever are accessing the internet through mobile devices. By the end of 2023, mobile internet users increased to 4.6 billion (57 percent of the global population).
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“Mobile is the primary — in some cases, only — way most access the internet in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Mobile accounted for 84 percent of broadband connections in 2023,” GSMA said.
Sub-Saharan Africa has the lowest connectivity levels and the largest coverage gap. Connectivity is highest in Southern and Western Africa, at around 30 percent, and lowest in Central Africa, at 19 percent. Africa’s most populous nation ranks fifth among the top 20 countries with the most mobile internet usage gaps.
The top four countries include: India (670 million), China (280 million), Pakistan (140 million), and Indonesia (140 million).
Rural areas in Nigeria suffer the most from this divide, where smartphone penetration remains low. While smartphone usage in urban Nigeria rose slightly to 59 percent in 2023, it fell from 32 percent to 26 percent in rural areas. Similarly, mobile internet use in urban regions stands at 59 percent, compared to just 28 percent in rural areas.
According to Karl Toriola, chief executive officer of MTNN, high costs are hindering digital inclusion. Between 2022 and 2024, inflation (15.6 percent in January 2022) has eroded consumers’ purchasing power, making phones more expensive. According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), inflation wiped N7.61 trillion off consumer spending in 2023.
In addition to high costs, coverage gaps are another major challenge. “Despite progress, Sub-Saharan Africa remains the region with the highest coverage gap, at 13 percent,” noted GSMA.
Nigeria has a 90,000-kilometer fiber infrastructure gap, leading to slow and unreliable internet access. “Last-mile infrastructure (fibre) is important to the end-user experience,” said Chris Wood, chief executive officer of WIOCC Group, an open-access digital infrastructure firm.
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“The last mile, the fibre network, is probably the most important thing that needs to be built out, and we are talking about buried fibre, not strung between poles, which becomes very vulnerable to cuts. You want to have a resilient and protected network built underground,” he said.
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) says that 27 million Nigerians lack access to telecom services, and according to the federal government, about 301 local government areas have no internet access, signifying a large coverage gap.
Other factors hindering mobile internet adoption include: limited awareness, unaffordable data plans, concerns about online risks, and a lack of relevant content or services.
In Sub-Saharan Africa, entry-level smartphones cost 99 percent of the average monthly income of the poorest 20 percent. GSMA suggests that reducing the price of an internet-enabled device to $20 could significantly reduce the usage gap.
The Nigerian government aims to close its digital infrastructure gaps and improve internet coverage.
“To ensure progress towards building the infrastructure needed for a robust digital economy in Nigeria, we understand that quality access is the backbone of a digital economy and have, therefore, focused on connectivity,” Bosun Tijani, minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, said in an interview with BusinessDay.
However, GSMA stated, “Investments in infrastructure will remain a top priority for enabling ever better mobile internet experiences. However, this will not be enough to address the digital divide and achieve truly inclusive digital growth. Given a persistent lack of adoption, more needs to be done to address the usage gap.”
Globally, closing the digital gap could add over $3.5 trillion to global gross domestic product (GDP) from 2023 to 2030, with $900 billion in additional GDP expected in 2030 alone. With less than six years remaining to meet the UN Sustainable Development Goals, GSMA emphasised that bridging the digital divide remains a global priority.
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