Telecom
Telcos Slowdown Expansion of Network Coverage, Capacity

Telecommunications operators have drastically reduced their efforts at expanding network coverage to underserved communities in the country as well as adding capacity, thereby frustrating federal government plans to extend telecommunications services to additional 40 million Nigerians.
It was gathered that in the past one year, just a very few number of base transceiver stations (BTS) have been built by both telcos and tower operators for network coverage and capacity.
A staff of one of the tower operators who does not want his name in print told Nigeria CommunicationsWeek that except for few internet service providers playing in the 4G LTE services that have requested for towers in certain commercial viable locations; Global System for Mobile communications operators no longer bother about extending coverage to underserved areas.
“They are concentrating in optimizing existing base stations for 4G LTE service and these are done in commercially viable cities.”
He attributed the decline to harsh operating environment in the country, adding that, ‘we no longer build towers to stay idle we build towers on demand and demand for additional towers from GSM operators to extend services to new areas has not been there in the past year. The number of towers has remained within 26,000”.
David Venn, chief executive officer, Spectranet, a 4G LTE internet service provider, attributed the situation to scarcity of foreign exchange to buy equipment.
“Operators need equipment to build towers. In the last one year it has been difficult for us to access dollar to import equipment for network expansion as well as adding capacity, the ones we are doing is from the equipment we imported before the new policy on FX, for big operators it has been very difficult for them to import equipment which has affected their efforts in adding capacity,” he said.
There is growing concern about plans by Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to extend telecommunications services to over 40 million Nigerians in this year, going by inability of operators to access foreign exchange to import equipment for extending network coverage to underserved areas.
Experts say that the country requires over 180,000 base transceiver stations to effectively cover the country with improved quality of service.
Subscribers of mobile telecommunications services particularly Global System for Mobile communications (GSM) have been faced with poor quality of service which stakeholders have attributed to insufficient base stations and capacity issues among other causes.
Engr. Gbenga Adebayo, chairman, Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) explained that effective coverage of geographical area requires deployment of base transceiver station (BTS) also known base station within the standard 5 kilometres radius.
Nigeria with geographical area of 910, 768 square kilometres requires about 182, 768 base stations to effectively deliver telecommunications services at improved quality on 5 kilometres radius between each BTS.
Telecom
African Women Hit Hardest as Mobile Internet Gender Gap Persists

African women remain among the most digitally excluded globally, with smartphone affordability and digital literacy among the key barriers. New data from the 2025 GSMA Mobile Gender Gap Report, launched recently, reveals a persistent global gender gap in mobile internet use across low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).
It further notes that literacy, digital skills, safety, and affordability of data also remain critical barriers. The report highlights that 885 million women across these regions still do not use mobile internet, with nearly 60% of them living in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.
While mobile internet is the primary way women in LMICs access the internet, offering critical lifelines to health, education, and financial services, the pace of female adoption has stalled, leaving 235 million fewer women than men connected.
Claire Sibthorpe, head of digital inclusion at GSMA, highlighted that the gender gap had narrowed significantly between 2017 and 2020, but progress flatlined in recent years.
Although 2023 brought a slight improvement, restoring the gap to 15%, 2024 saw minimal change, with the gap settling at 14%.
The disparity is most severe in Sub-Saharan Africa, where women are 29% less likely than men to use mobile internet.
“It’s disheartening that progress in reducing the mobile internet gender gap has stalled. The digital divide is driven by deep-rooted socio-economic and cultural factors that disproportionately impact women,” said Sibthorpe.
GSMA projects that closing the gender gap by 2030 could add $1.3 trillion to GDP across LMICs and deliver $230 billion in revenue to the mobile industry.
The report, funded by the UK FCDO, Sida, and the Gates Foundation, stresses the urgent need for targeted investment and policy action to bridge the digital divide and ensure that no woman is left offline.
“The mobile internet gender gap is not going to close on its own. It is driven by deep-rooted social, economic, and cultural factors that disproportionately impact women,” said Sibthorpe.
Telecom
Telcos Worry over Possible 5 Percent Tax Return

Nigeria may bring back a 5per cent excise tax on telecom services, according to the 2024 Finance Bill passed by the Senate last week.

Gbenga Adebayo, chairman, ALTON
The tax would apply to data transmission and voice calls.
First introduced in 2020 under the Mohammadu Buhari administration to widen the tax base, the measure was suspended in 2023 by President Bola Tinubu due to rising inflation.
With the budget under pressure, the government is now considering reinstating it.
Telecom operators warn that the tax would raise service costs and make it harder to close Nigeria’s digital divide, which still leaves more than 40% of the population without internet access.
Gbenga Adebayo, chairman, Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), said the proposal lacks detail and would increase the financial burden on users.
“We’ve had no clarity on how the 5% tax would be implemented, but the burden will fall on the consumer. Telecoms should be treated as a social good, not taxed like luxury items. No one taxes telecoms like this in countries where infrastructure is taken seriously,” he said.
ALTON also noted that operators are already subject to 54 different taxes nationwide.
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has not yet received the official version of the bill for review.
Telecom
GSMA Urges Governments to Prioritise Affordable Spectrum Costs to Support Global Digital Growth

The GSMA released its latest ‘Global Spectrum Pricing Report’, highlighting that average spectrum prices have not reduced in line with operator revenues over the last decade — putting significant pressure on their ability to invest in essential network infrastructure.
The report shows that, whilst both consumer prices for mobile services and the average cost of spectrum have fallen, the overall cost burden on mobile network operators (MNOs) has actually risen sharply. Global cumulative spectrum costs now account for 7% of operator revenues, a 63% increase over the past ten years.
Meanwhile, the average revenue generated per megahertz (MHz) of spectrum has declined by 60% over the same period. Although costs per MHz have fallen by up to 75% in some bands since 2014, operators have increased spectrum holdings by 80% over the same period to cope with bandwidth demand, driving up the overall cost.
A gigabyte of data is far more affordable today than ten years ago, with operators experiencing a staggering 96% fall in revenue per GB between 2014 and 2024. However, these falling revenues, when combined with the proportionately high cost of acquiring spectrum, restrict operators’ ability to invest in expanding and improving mobile networks, particularly 4G and 5G. The report shows that higher spectrum costs correlate directly with lower network coverage and reduced mobile speeds, impacting consumers and slowing the development of digital economies worldwide.
Vivek Badrinath, Director General of the GSMA, said: “The mobile industry sits at the heart of the digital economy, enabling services and opportunities that transform lives. But a dollar can only be spent once, and high spectrum costs can choke investment at a time when the need for affordable, reliable connectivity has never been greater. Governments and regulators must prioritise spectrum pricing that reflects market realities and fosters long-term digital growth. By ensuring spectrum is affordable, they can unlock faster network expansion, better service quality, and greater digital inclusion for all of their citizens.”
The Global Spectrum Pricing Report also highlights that public policy choices — such as setting artificially high reserve prices, creating artificial scarcity, and attaching onerous licence obligations — have often contributed to inflated spectrum costs. In some countries, spectrum costs can reach as high as 25% of operator revenues.
The GSMA urges policymakers to adjust spectrum prices in line with current market conditions and the economic realities faced by operators. With nearly 1,000 spectrum licences set to expire worldwide by 2030, upcoming renewals present a critical opportunity to reset pricing policies to drive investment in the next generation of mobile networks.
- News2 days ago
Stakeholders Seek Strengthening of Digital Infrastructure @ IoT West Africa
- Telecom2 days ago
Airtel Introduces Full Shopping Experience Within My Airtel App
- General News2 days ago
Lagos Slush’D 2025 To Promote Creativity among Start-ups
- E-Business2 days ago
Q1 2025 .ng Domain Name Statistics Reflect Nigeria’s Advancing Digital Landscape
- General News2 days ago
Jumia Expands Delivery Service to Nigeria
- General News1 day ago
NITDA Advocates Strategic Partnership in Research to Unlock Nigeria’s Digital Potential
- Telecom1 day ago
GSMA Urges Governments to Prioritise Affordable Spectrum Costs to Support Global Digital Growth
- Telecom1 day ago
Sophos Launches MSP Elevate Program to Boost MSP Growth and Profitability