Connect with us

Telecom

Spectranet Looks to Deepen Fixed Broadband Penetration in Nigeria – Awasthi

Published

on

Kindly share this post

Ajay Awasthi is the chief executive officer of Spectranet Nigeria. He spoke on the efforts of the Internet Service Provider in deepening broadband penetration in Nigeria.

As a major player in Nigeria’s Fixed Broadband segment, through your fiber optic based Fixed Broadband service offering, how will you describe the pace of Nigeria’s broadband penetration and its impact on digital infrastructure?

Fixed Broadband penetration in Nigeria is at abysmally low levels currently at about 0.1%. This pales in comparison to overall broadband ( including mobile broadband) penetration which, as per the latest figures by NCC, is at 42.27 %.

Just to put these figures in the right perspective, the worldwide Fixed Broadband penetration in 2021(as per Statista) is 16.7% with Europe leading the table with 34.7% penetration.

Fixed Broadband services have the capability to deliver extremely cost effective, high quality and high-speed access to internet. It can play a significant role in overall development of world class digital infrastructure in the country.

It’s quite clear that there is a lot of ground to be covered to increase Fixed Broadband penetration to even half of the worldwide penetration level. Being the foremost ISP in Nigeria, Spectranet is keen to lead the effort to increase the FBB penetration to the next levels within the next 2-3 years.

Spectranet as a pioneer in launching 4G LTE services in Nigeria. What was the trigger for launching Fiber based Fixed Broadband services?  

Culturally, we are an extremely data analytics and insight driven company with a deep sense of commitment towards proactively serving the needs of customers. Be it being the first to recognize the changing trends in data consumption and offering relevant products or anticipating and eliminating the causes of their pain points.

Post COVID, we have been keenly observing the key shifts in usage behaviour of our customers. A post COVID data user wants high speed internet access with low latency, high level of consistency with 99.99% up time.

All this at extremely affordable prices to watch movies on OTT platforms, play games or use video conferencing! We understood that these fast- evolving trends can be effectively addressed with a superior price-value proposition, through Fixed Broadband technologies.

This is what triggered our entry into Fixed Broadband and we are extremely pleased with the response we have been getting in the market in the cities of Lagos and Abuja. We will soon be entering into other markets too.

How is Spectranet going to differentiate its Fixed Broadband services once the 5G services are rolled out in Nigeria.

The telecom regulator NCC has done a commendable job by auctioning 5G Spectrum way ahead of many other countries. As per report the 5G services should get launched in the next 2-3 months times, though in a limited manner.

For a comprehensive 5 G launch, in order to realize the full benefits like high speed data, low latency, IOT, it’s critical to have an omnipresent network interconnected through a robust optic fiber network- connecting various towers and then for backhauling of the data to the network core and further.

All this infrastructure is at a miniscule level at this point of time and would certainly take a couple of years to be fully on-ground.

Having said that, Fixed Broadband and 5G technologies by no means are competing technologies. These will actually complement each other. Advanced technologies in fixed Broadband like XGS-PON are capable of delivering upstream and downstream speeds of10Gbps,way above 5 G speeds and at low latency levels.

Both the technologies will co-exist, serving different needs of the customers while on the move or working inside an office/home.

Fixed Broadband roll out is generally known to be slow paced due to associated challenges on account of securing right-of-way, trenching work and laying of cables. How is Spectranet managing rollout of FBB services? .

At Spectranet, we fully well understand the on-ground challenges and have been addressing these by deploying multiple technologies – HomeFibre ( FTTx) and FibreOnAir ( WTTx).

The latter is used in dense areas and helps in expediting roll outs of FBB. By this dual technology approach, we are able to deliver high quality internet services at a rapid pace.

What are your greatest challenges in offering FTTx services and how best could the challenges be addressed?

Nigeria has made rapid strides in mobile broadband penetration, with the regulator NCC playing a key role in proactively driving this through relevant policy interventions. However, the story is completely different in Fixed Broadband space.

This industry is completely bogged down by the lack of unified and robust policy framework for granting right-of-way (ROW) and charges the operator needs to pay for laying optic fiber cables.

Different states have different approaches to these which effectively thwart quicker rollouts. Further Non-availability of affordable/ reliable metro and national optic fiber networks also poses a key constraint on offering high quality Fixed Broadband services.

Given the criticality of FBB in delivering high quality and affordable services to the homes, SMEs/MSMEs, a unified, nationwide policy can help unleash the potential of this sector.

Over the last 3-4 years after MNOs launched their 4G services, we have witnessed intense Data price wars and a significant reduction in Data prices. How is Spectranet defending itself?

 This will need a bit of explaining to set the context right. In Nigeria the regulator has fixed a floor price for Voice calls and the operators cannot charge less than the floor price.

This wise move by the regulator has ensured that no operator indulges in predatory pricing hurting the profitability of the industry which is so critical to the creation of a digital economy.

Strikingly, there is no floor price yet fixed for Data prices and that is leading to an imbalance in the industry, favouring the bigger players. While the MNOs are using their floor price protected voice revenues to cross subsidize and slash data prices, ISPs like us are forced to drop prices to unsustainable levels in order to defend themselves.

Let’s be clear that ISPs are defending the indefensible if the regulator doesn’t intervene immediately and set a floor price for data to curb predatory pricing.

Isn’t a price war good from the customers’ view point?

I have said this earlier also and my views remain consistent.

War of any kind is destructive by nature. A price war is no exception. It is a short- sighted ploy to gain market share. In the near term, it may be touted as a “customer friendly “move but over a period of time a price war results in significant destruction of value for the industry, forcing the players to degrade quality of services.

A price war is not sustainable in the longer term and a lose-lose proposition for both the operators and the customers. The hapless customers finally end up at the receiving end and are made to suffer through poor quality of services.

At Spectranet, we stay committed to provide high-quality, high-speed broadband to our customers. We believe in delivering a superior customer experience through better understanding of their needs and through differentiated tariff plans backed by excellent customer service.

Spectranet is known for its superior customer service. What is your approach to customer service?

At Spectranet, we deeply acknowledge the fact that customer service is not just limited to putting up a call center but goes much beyond and that CS can be a powerful source of differentiation in the market place.

Customer service to us is not a reactive action but an organization wide mindset which gets embedded into all aspects of the business.

Secondly, we constantly remind ourselves that Customer Churn is just one bad experience away. We call such bad experiences “customer pain points” and assiduously work on getting down to the causative factors and addressing these.

Proactive customer service (anticipating customers’ needs and pain points) is like a religion at Spectranet. The focus always is on eliminating these pain points or bad experiences by staying ahead of the causative factors.

Another critical factor is the design of Customer Service Delivery (CSD) organization and the hierarchical distance from the front-end Customer Service Executive to the CEO.

At Spectranet we have managed to keep just two layers between CSE and CEO and that helps significantly in staying tuned to customers’ requirements in a proactive manner.

Telecom operators are itching to increase the cost of voice call, SMS and data services by 40 per cent. Are Internet Service Providers (ISPs) like Spectranet also thinking of a price hike in the cost of internet services?

Across all the industries the cost of doing business has seen a significant increase over the past few quarters. The cost of running the towers being a significant cost, the recent hike in the price of diesel has further exerted pressure on the bottom line.

As an industry, telecom has held the prices virtually constant over the last few years. In order to continue providing high quality services to our customers and continue to create direct and indirect employment to thousands of people, it’s imperative that survival of the industry is ensured through a price hike mitigating the impact of ballooning costs.

Nigeria has witnessed the landing of several submarine broadband cables in Lagos, with more still coming. How will these help Spectranet to offer better internet services to its customers?

It’s an extremely happy development, to say the least. Some of these companies are not only coming with landing station for their under-sea cables but also data centers.

Combination of these will help reduce costs of transiting traffic to the rest of the world but also bring in qualitative improvement by reducing latency.

We are hoping that more such players will also enter to provide intra-national lease line connectivity which still a major point of concern in terms of reliability and high costs. Just to substantiate, the cost of carrying data traffic from Abuja to Lagos is more than 3X the cost of carrying it from Lagos to USA!

what safety measures have Spectranet put in place to ensure security from Cyber attacks?

With more and more digitalization happening, the vulnerability to cyber attacks has increased for sure. Cyber Security threats caused by DDoS, Malware, Emotet etc. are quite common these days.

As an operator we take cyber security very seriously and have deployed sophisticated equipment to thwart and neutralize these threats. There are multiple layers of cyber security comprising latest generation of Firewalls and Intrusion Prevention systems which effectively neutralize such threats.


Kindly share this post

Dear Reader, Your support matters. But we believe that technology makes life more exciting and helps improve the lives of people around Nigeria and indeed the world. That is why, we have devoted our energy to independent reportage of technology and finance and how they affect lives. Our incisive and analytical view of how technology news affects the daily life help individuals and organizations make up their minds. Quality journalism costs money. Today, we're asking that you support us to do more. Kindly support our effort to deliver technology and finance journalism to everyone in the world. Donate as little as N1,000. Bank transfers can be made to: UBA Plc 1017156876 Communication Week Media Ltd

Telecom

Telcos Resume SIM Card Sales after 2-Week Halt

Published

on

Kindly share this post

Telecommunications operators have resumed full SIM swap and related services following a four-week nationwide outage linked to the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC)’s migration to a new verification platform.

Telcos Resume SIM Card Sales after 2-Week Halt

The outage rendered millions of subscribers unable to perform SIM-related tasks such as swaps, replacements, and activations.

Operators in the industry say the disruption began on June 26, 2025 when telcos temporarily halted SIM registrations and swaps due to unforeseen technical challenges during the transition to NIMC’s upgraded identity verification system.

The migration was mandated to enhance the integrity and efficiency of national identity management but caused major service interruptions across all Nigerian networks.

However, July 21, both MTN and Airtel confirmed via their social media handles that SIM swap services have now fully resumed.

MTN announced: “SIM swaps have now resumed. We can confirm that NIMC services are fully operational and appreciate their support in the migration to a new platform for NIN verification services for the telecommunications industry.

In a public update issued via its MTN Nigeria Support handle on X (formerly Twitter), MTN confirmed that SIM swaps have now resumed.

Telecom operators complained that the portal was unreliable or inaccessible, which resulted in the suspension of SIM swaps, number porting, and new SIM registrations, even though NIMC maintained that the platform was operating as intended.

Unexpected technical difficulties arose during the switch to the new platform, according to the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria.

Real-time NIN verification for SIM registration, replacement, and network migration was impacted by these issues.

“Unexpected technical difficulties have surfaced, impacting real-time NIN verification for SIM registration, replacement, and porting, following a recent directive from the National Identity Management Commission mandating Mobile Network Operators to transit to a new identity verification platform,” ALTON stated in a previous joint statement signed by Gbenga Adebayo, chairman, and Damian Udeh, publicity secretary.

 


Kindly share this post
Continue Reading

Telecom

Nigeria, Others Achieve 84% Adult Mobile Phones Penetration

Published

on

Kindly share this post

The World Bank has affirmed that 84 per cent of adults in low-and middle-income economies, including Nigeria, own personal mobile phones.

The bank in its Global Findex 2025 report said mobile phone ownership was widespread and nearly everywhere. It said data from the Global Findex 2025 Digital Connectivity Tracker, revealed that “86 per cent of adults worldwide, and 84 per cent of adults in low- and middle-income economies, own personal mobile phones.”

The report pointed out that mobile phones and the internet had become widespread and essential to daily life in every economy around the world.

A earlier overview had indicated that Nigeria had a high mobile phone penetration rate, with estimates around 85 per cent to 87 per cent in 2024.

This translates to over 200 million mobile connections, making Nigeria a leading market in Africa for mobile phone ownership and usage. While the overall penetration is high, there’s a growing trend towards smartphone adoption, with forecasts predicting over 140 million smartphone users by 2025.

According to DataReporter, a total of 150 million cellular mobile connections were active in Nigeria in early 2025, with this figure equivalent to 64.0 per cent of the total population.

However, note that some of these connections may only include services such as voice and SMS, and some may not include access to the internet.

There were 107 million individuals using the internet in Nigeria at the start of 2025, when online penetration stood at 45.4 percent. Nigeria was home to 38.7 million social media user identities in January 2025, equating to 16.4 percent of the total population.

These headline stats offer a great overview of the “state of digital” in Nigeria at the start of 2025, but in order to make sense of how digital trends and behaviours have been evolving over time, we need to dig deeper into the data.

According to the World Bank, “as of 2024, individual ownership of mobile phones reached 86 per cent of adults worldwide.

“For many people, barely an hour goes by without their using a mobile device to make a call, ext a friend, read the news, access business information, post a meme on social media, pay for something, play a game, engage with a colleague or a customer, or search for information.

“As access to and use of digitally connected technologies increase, people, businesses, and governments place an increasingly high priority on online interactions. “Digitally connected technologies have clear, well-documented benefits.”

It further highlighted that access to mobile phones and the internet was associated with reduced poverty, increased consumption, and more employment for individuals in lowand middle-income economies.

“Women also experience these benefits, as internet access enables access to flexible jobs3 and has been shown to increase female labor force participation. “Mobile phones also facilitate information sharing.

For instance, in agricultural contexts, farmers’ access to real-time prices and buyer demand data can inform their decisions on where to sell, enhancing market efficiency and reducing the distances they would otherwise travel to get the best return for their product and time.

“Internet access also helps create jobs and aids individuals and countries in exporting goods and services,” it added. The World Bank further noted that owning a mobile phone furthermore enabled financial access through mobile money and other mobile financial services.

It added that these financial accounts and services, typically offered by mobile network operators or fintech firms and accessed via networks of local agents, were associated with lower rates of poverty, increased consumption and savings,and greater resilience to economic shocks.


Kindly share this post
Continue Reading

Telecom

Sophos Secures Leadership Spot in 2025 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Endpoint Protection

Published

on

Kindly share this post

Sophos, a global leader of innovative security solutions for defeating cyberattacks, today announced that it has been named a Leader in the 2025 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Endpoint Protection Platforms (EPP), marking the 16th consecutive time the company has received this recognition.

Sophos has been recognized in the Gartner Magic Quadrant for Endpoint Protection Platforms (EPP) since the inaugural publication for this category in 2007.

Sophos’ market-leading endpoint security solutions include Sophos Endpoint powered by Intercept X, Sophos Extended Detection and Response (EDR/XDR), and Sophos Managed Detection and Response (MDR).

Over 300,000 organizations trust Sophos endpoint security solutions to defend against cyberthreats, including advanced remote ransomware attacks and active adversaries.

Unique to Sophos, the solution includes adaptive defenses that automatically disrupt attackers by dynamically adjusting protection levels based on threat context.

“Sophos’ strength lies in its prevention-first strategy, designed to stop breaches before they start, adapt defenses in real time, and strengthen detection and response when it matters most,” said Kyle Falkenhagen, SVP, Product Management, Sophos. “We believe that receiving this recognition in the highly competitive endpoint security market for 16 consecutive reports reflects our relentless focus on developing innovative solutions that stay ahead of the global threat landscape and the adversaries we face every day.”

Sophos and Secureworks: The future of protection, detection, and response

Following Sophos’ acquisition of Secureworks in February 2025, combining two leading and complementary portfolios to offer a comprehensive suite of solutions for small, midmarket and enterprise organizations.

Secureworks Taegis XDR customers can use Sophos Endpoint to elevate their cyber defenses, at no additional charge, delivering both improved protection and return on investment.

The integration of Secureworks also adds a new Counter Threat Unit (CTU) to the Sophos X-Ops advanced threat response joint task force, further expanding the rich threat intelligence that informs all customers’ defenses.

Backed by Sophos’ advanced security technologies and a broad network of intelligence contacts and partners, the CTU plays a critical role in identifying and tracking threat actors and analyzing anomalous activity, uncovering new attack techniques, threats, and major shifts in the threat landscape.


Kindly share this post
Continue Reading

Trending