FG Aims for a Remarkable 100% Revenue Boost in the Telecom Sector

The federal government focuses on boosting the telecommunications industry, as it believes that the sector will increase its revenue by 100% between 2023 and 2027.

The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Bosun Tijani, made this known in the blueprint he recently released on the FG goals for the telecom sector.

Areas where the government generates revenue from the telecom industry are through the implementation of Company Income Tax (CIT) paid by telecom operators and VAT from its services.

Additionally, the federal government has been generating income from the sale of spectrum to telecom operators. It was recorded that the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) submitted N189 billion to the FG from spectrum sales in 2022.

His statement reads,

• As telecommunications continues to evolve in line with new technology and associated opportunities, it is critical to revamp our national approach to account for changing imperatives and to situate broadband development at the core of our national policy for the next 20 years. Core issues such as spectrum management, convergence, universal access, broadband penetration, net neutrality, and Quality of Service (QoS) have morphed significantly from when the last policy was issued.  

• Similarly, the drive towards a digital economy requires deepening of access to telephony and broadband services for the underserved and unserved. The Ministry will drive the review of the Telecoms Policy to account for these core issues.

Tijani said that his Ministry is set on increasing investment in the Nigerian telecom sector by 15% year-on-year.

The ministry plans to achieve this by reducing the number of unconnected Nigerians in rural areas from 61% to 20% by 2027.

The Minister also stated that his Ministry is planning to achieve 50% growth in Quality of Service (QoS) by the end of 2024.

He continued by saying that his Ministry is focused on increasing the net GDP from the telecom sector to 22% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by the end of 2027.

According to the data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), while the ICT sector recorded a growth rate of 11.64% in real terms year on year in Q2 2023, the growth was driven largely by activities in the telecommunications sub-sector, which contributed 16.06% to the GDP in the real term, Nairametrics reported.