Telecom
HP, Lenovo & Dell Lead Traditional PC Market Growth in the Second Quarter of 2018
International Data Corporation’s preliminary result for the second quarter of 2018 (2Q18) has shown that shipments of traditional PCs (desktop, notebook, and workstation) totaled 62.3 million units, recording solid year-on-year growth of 2.7%.
The results exceeded IDC’s forecast of 0.3% growth and marks the strongest year-on-year growth rate in more than six years, when the first quarter of 2012 posted growth of 4.2%.
Although helped to some extent by a weak second quarter in 2017, which was somewhat impacted by key component issues, the 2Q18 results decidedly bucked the trend from the previous three quarters, which had the market hovering slightly above or below flat growth.
Once again business volume appeared to be the key driver with the top three companies reaping benefits across both desktop and notebook.
Moreover, the market continued to grow for both premium as well as entry models. Chrome OS-based devices, premium notebooks, and gaming PCs all further fueled the mix in the wake of improved supply and prices of graphic cards.
Not surprisingly, the recovery is relegated to the highest echelon of the market as the top 5 companies all posted positive year-on-year growth, collectively growing over 7% and capturing nearly 78% of the overall market.
Scale, be it in the form of purchasing power to reduce costs, obtain scarce components, or channel reach, continued to be the catalyst for industry consolidation.
From a geographic perspective, all regions exceeded forecast, with both mature and emerging markets seeing good activity.
The US market delivered another growth quarter after coming in just below flat in 2017.
Jay Chou, research manager with IDC’s Personal Computing Device Tracker, said “Although traditional PCs may not be the default device for many usage scenarios, the market continues to show pockets of resiliency as PC usage experience evolves and improves.
“Even certain types of desktops are seeing growth amid this business-driven refresh cycle.
Neha Mahajan, senior research analyst, Devices & Displays, said “Results for the first half of 2018 have been encouraging for the US PC market despite market challenges that surfaced including expected slowdown of Chromebooks amid production inhibitors.
“And with sentiment looking improved for the second half of the year, the US could deliver a strong market performance for the year.”
Regional Highlights shows that in US the traditional PC market registered its second consecutive quarter of year-on-year shipment growth with a total of 17.3 million units.
The desktop market saw shipments rising after a long decline with growth being driven by increased commercial purchases and supported by growing consumer demand for gaming systems.
The enterprise shift to Windows 10 and an overall positive economic environment also helped maintain momentum on the notebook side.
Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) – The traditional PC market experienced modest growth, owing to a further wave of device renewals in the commercial space.
Despite the trend toward mobility, desktops once again played a strong role in driving the overall performance of the market.
Asia/Pacific (excluding Japan) (APeJ) – The traditional PC market came close to IDC’s forecast, supported by positive results in India, where better than expected consumer demand and good traction in the commercial market drove shipments.
Meanwhile, the Department of Education project contributed to a strong increase in the commercial space in the Philippines.
The PC market in China performed above expectations, as better than forecasted sales and the launch of new models during the 618 Festival contributed to higher sell-in of consumer notebooks. On the other hand, the China commercial PC market remained impacted by weak shipments to SMBs and the public sector.
Japan – The market came in above expectations as commercial demand helped desktop and notebooks alike to exceed the forecast.
While Company Highlights shows that HP Inc continued to see results from its strong portfolio and execution.
It extended its streak of consecutive quarters of year-on-year growth, further cementing its hold over all others in the market. HP Inc. grew 7.6% on the year with growth in all regions.
Lenovo whose majority stake in its joint venture with Fujitsu took effect in 2Q18, came off with a good start.
The company rode the wave of healthy refresh momentum in Japan as well as recovering channel efforts in North America to grow 11.3% year on year (which includes Fujitsu volume beginning in 2Q18). All regions showed year-on-year growth.
Dell Inc., following a good 1Q18 result, posted strong growth of 9.0%, buoyed by strong performances in nearly all regions.
Apple finished the quarter in the 4th position with nearly flat year-on-year growth.
Acer held the 5th position, growing 1.3% year on year. Its focus on gaming and Chrome continues to help, but weakness on the commercial side also deprives it of much of the current market momentum.
Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has said that Nigeria’s internet usage reached a record 1.24 million terabytes in November 2025.
According to the latest data from the NCC, the figure rose modestly from 1.235 million terabytes in October, reflecting steady growth in digital activity across the country.
Broadband penetration in Nigeria crossed the halfway mark in November 2025, reaching 50.58 per cent, up from 45.61 per cent in January, the telecoms regulator reported.
The figure, however, falls short of the 70 per cent coverage target outlined in the National Broadband Plan 2020–2025, which expires this month.
The country had roughly 109 million broadband subscriptions by November. Growth has been uneven, hindered by infrastructure and regulatory constraints, including frequent fibre-optic vandalism that triggers 30 to 43 network cuts daily, high right-of-way fees, and declining subscriber numbers earlier in the year.
Expansion of mobile networks, particularly 3G and 4G services, alongside limited 5G rollouts in urban centres, affordable smartphones, and competitive data plans, has driven uptake.
Investments in the National Communications Backbone and private-sector initiatives have also improved access, especially in underserved areas.
While Nigeria is gradually improving digital inclusion, achieving the original broadband plan remains challenging due to high infrastructure costs, coverage limitations, and deployment hurdles.
The NCC maintains that continued investment in mobile networks and broadband infrastructure will sustain gradual growth in the sector.
Commenting on the development, some Nigerian analysts attributed the surge to the broader mobile and broadband adoption and the growing appetite for streaming, online learning and other digital services.
According to the analysts, the figures suggest that internet connectivity is no longer a luxury but a necessity for both business and leisure, underscoring the slow but steady expansion of Nigeria’s digital economy.
Bureau of Public Service Reforms (BPSR) has named the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) among the top three Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of the Federal Government with the Best Ranking in Website Performance for 2025.
L-R: Head Special Projects, Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), Salamatu Andu; Executive Commissioner, Technical Services, Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC), Engr. Abaraham Oshadame; Director General Bureau of Public Service Reforms (BPSR), Head Customer Support Service, Galaxy Backbone, Rosemary Ehize; Secretary to the ES. Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board, Tahir Aminu at the BPSR award ceremony for top four MDAs in BPSR Website Performance and Ranking 2025 at the BPSR office on Tuesday, 23rd December, 2025.
This is coming barely three weeks after the telecom regulator was recognized as one of the top five best-performing Federal Government agencies for 2025 by the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) – a testament to the Commission’s consistency in investment in technology for ensuring efficient service delivery.
In the BPSR 2024/2025 scorecard ranking of agencies’ websites, the NCC came second in the ranking, trailing behind Galaxy Backbone Limited, which came first while the Nigeria Export Promotion Council (NEPC) clinched the third position, from a pool of 235 MDAs, whose website were evaluated.
BPSR deployed 14 evaluation criteria in include MDA’s website compliance with .gov.ng domain name, appearance and aesthetics (look and feel) of the website, content, relevance to MDAs mandate/government policy and the website’ structure.
Others include website’s responsiveness (device compatibility), security, load time, usability/ease of navigation, availability/uptime, functionality, interactivity, accessibility and capacity building.
The recognition was announced at the official release of Federal Government 2024/2025 Scorecard Ranking for MDAs’ Website held at the Federal Ministry of Finance Auditorium in Abuja on Monday (December 22, 2025) while the award presentation took place at BPSR’s Office on Tuesday (December 23, 2025).
The award, which is an important index metric of the National e-Government Masterplan for determining the Nigeria e-Government Status, was received by the Commission in recognition of its commitment to maintaining a world-class website that enhances service delivery to the citizens.
Receiving the award on behalf of the Executive Vice Chairman of the NCC, Dr. Aminu Maida, the NCC’s Executive Commissioner, Technical Services, Abraham Oshadami, appreciated the BPSR for the recognition, describing the award as “another encouragement for the Commission to be a better public service institution leveraging digital platforms such as our web presence to enhance public service delivery to our various stakeholders, thereby implementing the Federal Government’s Ease of Doing Business policy direction.”
While presenting the award to the NCC, alongside other two agencies, BPSR’s Director-General, Mr. Dasuki Arabi, commended the top three for their proactive decisions in maintaining world-class websites, which are compliant with the Federal Government’s policy direction in effective and efficient service delivery to the citizens.
According to the DG, the 2024/2025 MDA’s websites’ ranking represents a collective effort of federal public institutions in Nigeria to be transparent, accountable and open in governance, as well as a confirmation to align with global best practices in service delivery to the citizens.
Developed about six years ago, Arabi said as a result of the annual ranking, more public institutions have indicated readiness to embrace reforms, and align with the policy direction of the current administration’s Renewed Hope agenda on improve governance for effective service delivery, as introduced by His Excellency President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
“The ideals of harnessing and deploying technological tools for service delivery has become imperative following the COVID pandemic, and distortions of socio-economic system of nations, culminating in the evolution of competitiveness, cost effectiveness, and agile governance.
“As engine room of governance, it behoves on us in the public service to perform our statutory duties and we must put in place technological innovations and standardized websites to operate services as well as deliver service needs to citizens,” he said.
The Scorecard exercise, he said, is part of the BPSR reform broader function of conducting research on reform implementation efforts and presenting ‘best practice’ models to the entire Public Service, and to among others, improve access to government information, facilitate seamless financial transaction, eliminate corruption and cyber theft, as well as facilitate access to government services.
Speaking on the rigorous nature of the exercise that produced the top three winners, the DG said “in the past few weeks members of the Scorecard Jury drawn from inter-Ministerial Agencies, had worked tirelessly to mill websites of selected MDAs through a rigorous process of enduring criteria for the ranking and the outcome had also passed through a quality assurance mechanism to validate the outcome.”
Taiwo Oyedele, Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, has dismissed reports that bank accounts not linked to a Tax Identification Number (TIN) will be frozen or automatically debited from January 1, 2026.
Taiwo Oyedele
Oyedele described the claims as false and misleading, warning Nigerians against panic over misinformation surrounding recent tax and financial reforms.
In a post on his X handle Tuesday morning, he wrote: “Don’t let anyone manipulate you. Your bank account is safe. Misinformation makes you panic and fear a reform that is designed to help you.
“When they tell you that your account will be frozen or automatically debited from January 2026, ask them for the evidence in the new law. Be wise.”
He stressed that no provision in the new tax laws authorises the freezing of bank accounts, adding that the rumours are part of widespread misrepresentation of the reforms.
The committee chairman reiterated that the reforms are intended to simplify Nigeria’s tax system and ease the burden on ordinary citizens, not to impose punitive measures on bank customers.
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