Nigeria’s telecommunications regulator said on Monday it hopes to increase the number of subscribers to its fixed-line licenses to boost broadband internet services in the country.

hopes to increase the number of subscribers to its fixed-line licenses in the next year (image: stock.xchng)

Speaking to Bloomberg, Eugene Juwah, Nigerian Communications Commission CEO, said fixed-lines are key to boosting the country’s internet capacity.

“The licenses will be issued to revive the fixed-line telecommunication services that have been comatose and will benefit our broadband initiative,” Juwah said.

The agency wants to provide a “enabling environment” for private investors to expand the country’s broadband infrastructure, he said.

With Africa’s largest population of more than 160 million, Nigeria’s telephone users dramatically increased over the past decade. According to data published by the NCC, users grew from under a million in 2000 to over 90 million at the end of 2011.

Zooming out, fixed-line telephone users make up less than one percent of the total number, leaving room for growth in broadband communication as demand increases for data services, the NCC chief said.

David Eto