Telecoms brands record N2tr in Q1 revenue
The Nigerian telecoms brands continued their strong performance in terms of revenue growth with N2 trilion revenue recorded against the sector in first quarter of 2019.
This was disclosed by Communications Minister, Adebayo Shittu, recently at a valedictory media briefing in Abuja. The Minister also disclosed that Nigeria’s telephone subscribers’ base rose from 152 million in 2015 to 173 million by 2019 as a result of the massive investments of the government in the telecom sector.
“Telecom’s sector contributes N2 trillion to the economy’s GDP quarterly. That figure is not by the NCC but the National Bureau of Statistics, NBS, and it is verifiable. The contribution of the telecom sector to the economy stands at N2 trillion per quarter,” he said.
According to Mr. Shittu, broadband penetration in the industry reached 33.08 per cent as against 8.5 per cent in 2015 while the country is now targeting 70 per cent by year 2023.
“The quality of services has improved significantly, the country is targeting 120,000km fibre infrastructure by 2023 to enable the Federal Government address the challenges of the information communication technology, ICT, sector as the world moves towards digital economy.”
“The government has not abandoned the plan to acquire another satellite in the orbit to facilitate the commercialisation process of the Nigeria Satellite Communications Company, stressing that negotiations with the Chinese government on the matter is on-going,” he explained.
Speaking with reporters on the sideline, the Executive Vice Chairman, Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, Prof Umar Garba Danbatta, also said MTN has so far paid N235 billion out of the N330 billion fine imposed on it three years ago.
Mr. Danbatta who expressed optimism that the last tranche of N55 billion would be paid by MTN as soon as possible, described the listing of MTN on the country’s Exchange as a significant milestone in the telecom sector as Nigerians can now buy shares in the company and be part of its success story.
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