The federal government has said that it wants to double the amount of money it gets from the telecommunications business by 2027.
This is written in the Blueprint, released by Dr Bosun Tijani, the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy.
The telecom business brings in money for the government in the form of Company Income Tax (CIT) paid by the operators and VAT from the services they offer.
The government has also made money by selling airwaves to telecom companies. For example, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) sent N189 billion to the government last year as money from selling airwaves.
Read also: Telecoms sector accounts for 16.06% of Nigeria’s GDP in 2023
How will the revenue increase be made?
Tijani said in the Blueprint that the Ministry of Communications would change the National Policy on Telecommunications, which had not been changed since 2000. This would consider changes in technology, standards, and markets and set the course for the next part of one of Nigeria’s fastest-growing industries.
As new technology and opportunities emerge in telecoms, we must adapt our national approach and prioritise broadband development for the next 20 years. Spectrum management, convergence, universal access, broadband penetration, net neutrality, and QoS were altered from the previous policy.
Better phone and broadband services for underprivileged people are needed to establish a digital economy. The Ministry would review the Telecoms Policy to address these fundamental challenges, he said.
The Minister said the Ministry wants to boost Nigerian telecoms investment by 15% annually.
The goal is to reduce rural Nigerians without internet access from 61% to 20% by 2027.
Gross Domestic Product
He reportedly added that the Ministry hopes to make a 50% improvement in Quality of Service (QoS) by the end of 2024.
He also said that the Ministry has set a goal for the telecoms sector to contribute 22% of GDP net by the end of 2027.
According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the ICT sector grew by 11.64 per cent yearly in Q2 2023. Most of this growth came from the telecommunications sub-sector, which added 16.06 per cent to the real GDP.
The telecom industry, dominated by mobile network operators like MTN, Globacom, Airtel, 9mobile, and Internet Service Providers (ISPs), also drives a lot of activity in every other area of the economy.