Nigeria Records 50% Mobile Services Penetration - Report

Mobile services have a far-reaching, positive impact on the daily lives of Nigeria’s mobile end users, underscoring the important role telecommunications plays in social and economic development, according to a new study conducted by Pyramid Research, the telecom research arm of the Light Reading Communications Network.
Pyramid Research’s study, The Impact of Mobile Services in Nigeria: How Mobile Technologies Are Transforming Economic and Social Activities analyzes mobile adoption trends and consists of findings from surveying key mobile operators, vendors, international organizations, and 1,500 Nigerian end users.   Pyramid also assessed relevant examples of mobile applications across industry verticals in different countries to illustrate the far-reaching impact mobile technologies have in emerging markets.   Download an excerpt of this study.
“The study concludes that mobile services have ample reach in Nigeria, with mobile subscriptions in the country reaching almost 73 million by the end of 2009, resulting in a mobile penetration rate of roughly 50 percent of the population,” says Badii Kechiche, Senior Analyst at Pyramid Research.
“The mobile industry will continue to post rapid growth and has generated substantial investment in infrastructure, employing more than 3 million direct and indirect jobs in Nigeria,” he adds. “Since the Nigerian government successfully liberalized the industry in 2001, capital investments in mobile networks and operations have constituted a total of more than $16 billion as of March 2010, according to the Nigerian Communications Commission.”
The study also finds that mobile services have positively influenced every aspect of Nigerian mobile end users’ lives.  “We found that mobile services are helping people access information, creating business opportunities, lowering transaction costs, and enhancing social interaction,” Kechiche explains.
“There is also ample space to develop mobile applications in the areas of agriculture, education, financial services, and health in Nigeria,” adds Kechiche.  “Lastly, the study finds that the mobile market in Nigeria will be driven by collaboration among the market players, including equipment and handset vendors, mobile operators, local government, and international organizations.”