In telecom, Nigeria has potential for massive growth - Pyramid Research

By Prince Osuagwu

Renowned research and economists, Pyramid Research company has take a cursory look into Nigeria' future and concludes that The country has got the potentials with its telecom activities, to grow massively.
According to the study, the fast pace of telecom growth and large population exceeding 170.1 million would continue to make Nigeria one of the most attractive markets in Africa and the Middle East.
The study, however, also identifies sound regulatory regime brought about by the telecom industry regular, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC),as a key factor that pushes and helps to sustain the growth potential.
The report specifically spotted the regulatory architecture in Nigeria as creating more level playing field as the regulator's insistence on quality of service and fining operators that fail to meet Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) gives tremendous business confidence to prospective investors.
It further noted that after consultations with operators and stakeholders, the regulator also implemented a progressive lowering of interconnect rates while highlighting the significance of the introduction of mobile number portability. The study said this would pave the way for a more competitive market and benefit consumers by lowering tariffs.
The competitive landscape in the industry is putting pressure on operators to roll out new infrastructures to improve coverage and quality.
“Operators are investing billions of dollars to improve their services and to reach the under-served regions of the country. Industry is benefiting handsomely from these investments, with mobile revenues increasing at a rate of 4.5 per cent in local currency terms between 2012 and 2017,” the study says.
According to the report, main opportunities exist in network expansion, improved quality of service and infrastructure development.
“For operators, with mobile penetration at only 66.3 per cent in 2012, opportunities exist for operators to increase subscriber base by investing in improving and expanding their networks.
“Mobile number portability is presenting further opportunity to attract competitors’ customers by offering better deals and quality of service. Opportunities also exist in the broadband segment, which is expected to see massive growth during the forecast period.
According to the report, the industry remains attractive for telecom vendors as operators continue to invest in their networks.