Nigeria’s telecommunications sector is ready for a serious overhaul as telecom operators have dedicated over $1 billion to community infrastructure upgrades, the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani, disclosed on Thursday.
Talking throughout an interview on TVC, Tijani revealed that the gear orders — the biggest in over a decade — will start arriving within the nation between June and July.
The procurement, he mentioned, is a direct results of the 50 per cent tariff assessment accepted in February 2025.
“Now we have affirmation that our telcos have positioned gear orders price over $1bn. That hasn’t occurred in a very long time on this nation,” Tijani acknowledged.
The tariff adjustment, the primary in additional than 10 years, was launched to cushion the impact of escalating working prices which have risen by over 300 per cent.
It has supplied the operators with the {financial} leeway to reinvest in long-overdue infrastructure enlargement.
The gear — sourced largely from Authentic Tools Producers (OEMs) in China — is anticipated to enhance service supply throughout the nation, improve broadband penetration, and speed up 4G and 5G community deployment.
READ ALSO: Airtel completes deal for acquisition of 4G, 5G spectrum at $316.7m
“By the third quarter, Nigerians ought to start to note a major enchancment in service high quality — fewer dropped calls, quicker web, and wider protection,” the Minister mentioned.
The event follows earlier remarks by the Govt Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Fee (NCC), Dr. Aminu Maida, who had revealed throughout an April 29 colloquium in Lagos that telecom companies had reached billion-dollar offers with worldwide distributors for a large know-how refresh.
Tijani emphasised the significance of rural connectivity, noting that the federal government would proceed to help infrastructure rollout in much less commercially viable areas to shut the digital divide and improve nationwide safety.
“If we don’t go into rural areas, business telcos gained’t. That’s why President Tinubu has made rural protection a prime precedence. This isn’t nearly inclusion — it’s about {economic} progress and safety,” he mentioned.
The Minister added that as digital communication shifts more and more towards knowledge platforms like WhatsApp, there’s rising strain on broadband infrastructure, making investments like this significant for sustainable progress.
The federal government says it’ll proceed to observe the deployment course of to make sure transparency and immediate service enhancements for tens of millions of customers throughout the nation.
