Nigeria gets over 150 new phone models to meet rising demand
By Joseph Ekeng
With a huge population, Nigeria remains one of the most attractive investment destinations for mobile phone manufacturers around the world.
In recent times, the country has been experiencing an influx of new phone models to cater for growing demand. According to reports from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), in the last two months alone no less than 151 new phone models have been approved for import.
As of January this year, there were only 1, 961 phones approved by the NCC. But the latest data from the regulatory agency showed that the number has risen to 2112. This indicates that the mobile manufacturers had secured approval for 151 new models of phones between February and March.
The latest data on type-approved phones shows that Chinese mobile manufacturers are still dominating the mobile market in the country in terms of approved devices. Tecno led the pack with over 300 models of its phones approved.
This trend has continued with the latest batch of approved phones, further cementing China’s dominance in the market.
According to experts, this development underscores the growing importance of the Nigerian market to global mobile manufacturers, and the increasing demand for cutting-edge mobile technology in the country.
In a report titled, The Telecommunications Industry in Nigeria 2022 published by ResearchAndMarkets.com, “About 63 million phone devices are sold in Nigeria each year.”
Aside from Tecno, some of the other popular phone brands include Mobile, Nokia, Wiko, Samsung, Panasonic, Huawei, Asus, Apple, HP, Google, Gionee, Alcatel, and Oppo, among others. Each of these has significant market shares, as mobile phones remain the main platform for voice and data connectivity with the majority of Nigerians accessing the internet through mobile phones.
Speaking on the moves to ensure that all phones in the country are type-approved, the Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Prof Umar Danbatta, recently warned Nigerians not to buy any phone that has not been certified for the market by the regulator.
RECOMMENDED ARTICLES
Comment
No comments found.