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Nigeria is Africa's largest ICT market, accounting for 82% of the continent's telecoms subscribers and 29% of internet usage.
Globally, Nigeria ranks 11th in the absolute number of internet users and 7th in the absolute number of mobile phones.
Economically, the ICT sector has contributed over 10% to Nigeria's gross national product for over 10 years.
Telecommunications in Nigeria include
radio
Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmi ...
,
television
Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...
, fixed and
mobile telephones
A mobile phone, cellular phone, cell phone, cellphone, handphone, hand phone or pocket phone, sometimes shortened to simply mobile, cell, or just phone, is a portable telephone that can make and receive calls over a radio frequency link while ...
, and the
Internet
The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, pub ...
.
Radio and television
Nigeria's media scene is one of the most vibrant in
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
. Television and radio remain the most important medium of mass communication and information, with
Social media
Social media are interactive media technologies that facilitate the creation and sharing of information, ideas, interests, and other forms of expression through virtual communities and networks. While challenges to the definition of ''social medi ...
rapidly emerging as the next big medium. International broadcasters, including the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
, are popular.
["Nigeria Profile"](_blank)
''BBC News'', 12 September 2013.
There are nearly 70 federal government-controlled national and regional TV stations. All 36 states operate TV stations. Roughly 40 state government-owned radio stations typically carry their own programs except for news broadcasts.
Several private TV stations are operational. Cable and satellite TV subscription services are available. Nigeria has about 20 private radio stations; transmissions of international broadcasters are available. Digital broadcasting migration process has been completed in three states in 2018.
Government-owned stations
The largest broadcasting companies are the government-owned
Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria
The Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN) is Nigeria's state radio broadcasting organization. Its subsidiary is the domestic radio network known as ''Radio Nigeria'', with FM stations across the 36 states and Zonal station in the 6 geopoliti ...
(FRCN) and the
Nigerian Television Authority
The Nigerian Television Authority or NTA is a Nigerian government-owned and partly commercial broadcast station. Originally known as Nigerian Television (NTV), it was inaugurated in 1977 with a monopoly on national television broadcasting, after ...
(NTA). The NTA has two television services, one is NTA 1, which is distributed among NTA's six television zones.The other is NTA 2, which is distributed nationwide and is funded mostly by advertising.
NITEL
Nigerian Telecommunications Limited (NITEL), was a monopoly telephone service provider in Nigeria until 1992 when the Nigerian government enacted the Nigerian Communications Commission act allowing new entrants into the telecommunications secto ...
owns a majority of the transmitters that broadcast FRCN and NTA programming.
Each state also has a broadcasting company that broadcasts one or two locally operated terrestrial stations.
This means that there are about 50
government
A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state.
In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is ...
owned, but partly independent television stations.
Commercial stations
Private players in the Nigerian television scene include:
Silverbird Television (STV),
Africa Independent Television
Africa Independent Television, also known by its acronym AIT, is a privately owned television broadcaster in Nigeria. It operates Free To Air in Nigeria as the largest privately operated terrestrial television network with stations in twenty-fo ...
(AIT),
, Superscreen Television, and several others. Most of their programming is aimed for the African and global markets and is broadcast globally from
Lagos
Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national capital of Nigeria until December 1991 fo ...
,
Abuja, and
Port Harcourt centres with affiliated TV stations in other cities in Nigeria and several African countries.
African Independent Television
Africa Independent Television, also known by its acronym AIT, is a privately owned television broadcaster in Nigeria. It operates Free To Air in Nigeria as the largest privately operated terrestrial television network with stations in twenty-fo ...
(AIT) is a high-profile satellite television station broadcasting globally from its Lagos and Abuja centres. Other direct satellite television stations with international reach operating in Nigeria are Murhi International Television, ON Television,
Galaxy TV, TV Continental, etc. all in Lagos.
There is general access to cable television
like
DSTV,
HiTV, DaarSat,
StarTimes and
Infinity TV and other cable TVs in Nigeria.
Statistical data
Radio stations
Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radio sta ...
:
*
network
Network, networking and networked may refer to:
Science and technology
* Network theory, the study of graphs as a representation of relations between discrete objects
* Network science, an academic field that studies complex networks
Mathematics ...
of federal government-owned national, regional, and state radio stations; roughly 40 state government-owned radio stations typically carry their own programs except for news broadcasts; about 20 private radio stations; transmissions of international broadcasters are available (2007);
["Communications: Nigeria"]
''World Factbook'', U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, 11 February 2014. Retrieved 21 February 2014.
* 83 AM, 36 FM, and 11 shortwave stations (2001).
["Communications: Nigeria"]
''World Factbook'', U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, 31 May 2007. Retrieved 12 June 2007 via the Internet Archive.
Radios
Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmitt ...
:
23.5 million (1997).
Television stations
A television station is a set of equipment managed by a business, organisation or other entity, such as an amateur television (ATV) operator, that transmits video content and audio content via radio waves directly from a transmitter on the ear ...
: nearly 70 federal government-owned national and regional TV stations; all 36 states operate TV stations; several private TV stations operational; cable and satellite TV subscription services are available (2007).
[
]Television set
A television set or television receiver, more commonly called the television, TV, TV set, telly, tele, or tube, is a device that combines a tuner, display, and loudspeakers, for the purpose of viewing and hearing television broadcasts, or using ...
s:
56.9 million (2007).
Media control and press freedom
Although the government censors the electronic media through the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), which is responsible for monitoring and regulating broadcast media, there's no established proof towards Government's control of the media. Radio stations remain susceptible to attacks by political groups. For example, in January 2012 some media figures alleged the NBC warned radio stations not to broadcast stories about fuel subsidy protests.[
Libel is a civil offense and requires defendants to prove the truth of opinion or value judgment contained in news reports or commentaries, or pay penalties. However, the media is allowed to broadcast "fair comment on matters of public interest". Penalties for ]defamation of character
Defamation is the act of communicating to a third party false statements about a person, place or thing that results in damage to its reputation. It can be spoken (slander) or written (libel). It constitutes a tort or a crime. The legal defini ...
include two years' imprisonment and possible fines.[
The law requires local television stations to limit programming from other countries to 40 percent and restricts foreign content of satellite broadcasting to 20 percent. The NBC's 2004 prohibition of live broadcasts of foreign news and programs remains in force, but does not apply to international cable or satellite services.
On numerous occasions in the past, especially, during military regime, security forces and police have arrested and detained journalists who criticized the government. Reporting on matters such as political corruption and security issues are particularly sensitive. Politicians and political parties harass journalists perceived as reporting on them or their interests in a negative manner. During local and state elections, journalists have been intimidated for covering certain election-related events. The militant group Boko Haram threatens media outlets and has killed members of the press. On 20 January 2012, unknown gunmen killed Channels TV reporter Enenche Akogwu while he was reporting on the Boko Haram attacks and bombings in ]Kano
Kano may refer to:
Places
*Kano State, a state in Northern Nigeria
* Kano (city), a city in Nigeria, and the capital of Kano State
**Kingdom of Kano, a Hausa kingdom between the 10th and 14th centuries
**Sultanate of Kano, a Hausa kingdom between ...
that day. Journalists practice self-censorship.[
]
Telephones
The number of fixed-line connections is insignificant and also in sharp decline (2016: 349,000, 2020: 107,000).["FG Hands Over NITEL/MTEL To NATCOM Consortium"](_blank)
The Communicator by NCC, 12 December 2013. Retrieved 11 September 2016.
Mobile services, on the other hand, are growing rapidly, partly in response to fixed-line inadequacies; several mobile operators operate across the country, with subscribers at 92 per 100 people (2019). This ranks Nigeria 8th in the world.Airtel Nigeria
Airtel Networks Limited (Airtel Nigeria), commonly known as Airtel, is a leading mobile network operator in Nigeria. According to the Subscribers statistics released by Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) on 30 August 2019, Airtel Nigeria ha ...
, Globacom, and 9mobile. Use of cell-phones has soared, and has mostly replaced the unreliable fixed line services of Nigerian Telecommunications Limited (NITEL).
With the expiration of the exclusivity period of the main GSM network providers, Nigeria's telecom regulator, the Nigerian Communications Commission
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) is the independent regulatory authority for the telecommunications industry in Nigeria. The NCC was created under Decree number 75 by the Federal Military Government of Nigeria on 24 November 1992. The ...
(NCC), introduced the Unified Licensing Regime. It was hoped that telecoms with unified licences would be able to provide fixed and mobile telephony and Internet access as well as any other communications service they choose to offer. In March 2011 the NCC started registering SIM card
A typical SIM card (mini-SIM with micro-SIM cutout)
A GSM mobile phone
file:Simkarte NFC SecureElement.jpg, T-Mobile nano-SIM card with NFC capabilities in the SIM tray of an iPhone 6s
file:Tf sim both sides.png, A TracFone Wireless SIM card ha ...
s. The exercise was expected to last until 28 September 2011.
In 2015 the NTC fined MTN Nigeria a record $5.2 billion for issuing 5.2 million unregistered and pre-registered subscriber Identification Module Cards (SIMs). In 2017 the NTC sett up a 12-member task force in response to renewed proliferation of Unregistered and pre-registered SIM card
A typical SIM card (mini-SIM with micro-SIM cutout)
A GSM mobile phone
file:Simkarte NFC SecureElement.jpg, T-Mobile nano-SIM card with NFC capabilities in the SIM tray of an iPhone 6s
file:Tf sim both sides.png, A TracFone Wireless SIM card ha ...
s. The unregistered cards are considered a threat to Nigerian national security.
After a decade of failed privatization attempts, the incumbent national telecom NITEL
Nigerian Telecommunications Limited (NITEL), was a monopoly telephone service provider in Nigeria until 1992 when the Nigerian government enacted the Nigerian Communications Commission act allowing new entrants into the telecommunications secto ...
and its mobile arm have been sold to NATCOM and now rebranded as NTEL.
Statistical data
Calling code: +234International call prefix
An international call prefix, international dial-out code or international direct dial code (IDD code) is a trunk prefix that indicates an international phone call. In the dialling sequence, the prefix precedes the country calling code (and, fur ...
: 009
Connected lines:
* 348,933 fixed wired/wireless lines (July 2016).GSM
The Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) is a standard developed by the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) to describe the protocols for second-generation ( 2G) digital cellular networks used by mobile devices such ...
) lines (July 2016).CDMA
Code-division multiple access (CDMA) is a channel access method used by various radio communication technologies. CDMA is an example of multiple access, where several transmitters can send information simultaneously over a single communicatio ...
) lines (July 2016).[
* ~60 mobile lines per 100 persons (2010).][
Satellite earth stations: 3 Intelsat (2 ]Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...
and 1 Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by t ...
) (2010);Submarine cables Submarine cable is any electrical cable that is laid on the seabed, although the term is often extended to encompass cables laid on the bottom of large freshwater bodies of water.
Examples include:
*Submarine communications cable
*Submarine power ...
:
* SAT-3/WASC
SAT-3/WASC or South Atlantic 3/West Africa Submarine Cable is a submarine communications cable linking Portugal and Spain to South Africa, with connections to several West African countries along the route. It forms part of the SAT-3/WASC/SAFE cabl ...
/ SAFE links countries along the west coast of Africa to each other and on to Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...
and Asia
Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...
,[
* ]ACE
An ace is a playing card, die or domino with a single pip. In the standard French deck, an ace has a single suit symbol (a heart, diamond, spade, or club) located in the middle of the card, sometimes large and decorated, especially in the c ...
links countries along the west coast of Africa to each other and on to France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
,["Greg's Cable Map"]
Greg Mahlknecht, 19 December 2013. Retrieved 21 February 2014.
* GLO-1 links countries along the west coast of Africa to each other and on to the United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
,[
* Main One links countries along the west coast of Africa to each other and on to ]Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
.[
]
Internet
Nigeria is one of the larger telecom markets in Africa subject to sporadic access to electricity. Most Internet connections are via mobile networks. The government is committed to expanding broadband penetration. The operators deploy fiber optic cable in six geopolitical zones and Lagos and invest in base stations to deplete network congestion.
Statistical data
Top-level domain
A top-level domain (TLD) is one of the domains at the highest level in the hierarchical Domain Name System of the Internet after the root domain. The top-level domain names are installed in the root zone of the name space. For all domains in ...
: .ng
.ng is the Internet country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for Nigeria
Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in We ...
["Poor Internet Connection Sounds Death Knell for Businesses"]
Punch Newspapers Retrieved 25 December 2015
* 55.9 million users, 8th in the world; 32.9% of the population, 128th in the world (2012);[Calculated using penetration rate and population data fro]
"Countries and Areas Ranked by Population: 2012"
, Population data, International Programs, U.S. Census Bureau, retrieved 26 June 2013["Percentage of Individuals using the Internet 2000-2012"]
International Telecommunication Union (Geneva), June 2013, retrieved 22 June 2013
* 44.0 million users, 9th in the world (2009);[
* 5.0 million users, 40th in the world (2005).][
Fixed broadband: 15,311 subscriptions, 136th in the world; less than 0.05% of the population, 185th in the world (2012).]["Fixed (wired)-broadband subscriptions per 100 inhabitants 2012"](_blank)
Dynamic Report, ITU ITC EYE, International Telecommunication Union
The International Telecommunication Union is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for many matters related to information and communication technologies. It was established on 17 May 1865 as the International Telegraph Unio ...
. Retrieved on 29 June 2013.
Wireless broadband
Wireless broadband is telecommunications technology that provides high-speed wireless Internet access or computer networking access over a wide area. The term comprises both fixed and mobile broadband.
The term broadband
Originally the word ...
: 17.3 million subscriptions, 18th in the world; 10.2% of the population, 91st in the world (2012).["Active mobile-broadband subscriptions per 100 inhabitants 2012"](_blank)
Dynamic Report, ITU ITC EYE, International Telecommunication Union
The International Telecommunication Union is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for many matters related to information and communication technologies. It was established on 17 May 1865 as the International Telegraph Unio ...
. Retrieved on 29 June 2013.
Internet hosts:
* 1,234 hosts, 169th in the world (2012);[
* 1,549 hosts, 134th in the world (2006).][
IPv4: 1.0 million addresses allocated, 75th in the world, less than 0.05% of the world total, 5.9 addresses per 1000 people (2012).
]Internet service provider
An Internet service provider (ISP) is an organization that provides services for accessing, using, or participating in the Internet. ISPs can be organized in various forms, such as commercial, community-owned, non-profit, or otherwise privat ...
s:
* ~100 ISPs (2018);["Nigeria - Broadband and Internet Market, Digital Economy"]
BuddeComm, 2 August 2019. Retrieved 20 December 2020.
* ~400 ISPs (2010);[
* ~11 ISPs (2000).
]
Internet censorship and surveillance
Listed by the OpenNet Initiative
The OpenNet Initiative (ONI) was a joint project whose goal was to monitor and report on internet filtering and surveillance practices by nations. The project employed a number of technical means, as well as an international network of investigato ...
as no evidence of Internet filtering in all four areas for which they test (political, social, conflict/security, and Internet tools) in October 2009.["ONI Country Profiles"]
Research section at the OpenNet Initiative web site, a collaborative partnership of the Citizen Lab at the Munk School of Global Affairs, University of Toronto; the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University; and the SecDev Group, Ottawa.
There are few government restrictions on access to the Internet or credible reports the government monitors e-mail
Electronic mail (email or e-mail) is a method of exchanging messages ("mail") between people using electronic devices. Email was thus conceived as the electronic (digital) version of, or counterpart to, mail, at a time when "mail" meant ...
or Internet chat rooms
The term chat room, or chatroom (and sometimes group chat; abbreviated as GC), is primarily used to describe any form of synchronous conferencing, occasionally even asynchronous conferencing. The term can thus mean any technology, ranging from ...
. Although the constitution and law provide for freedom of speech, including for members of the press, the government sometimes restricts these rights in practice. Libel is a civil offense and requires defendants to prove the truth of opinion or value judgment contained in news reports or commentaries. Penalties include two years' imprisonment and possible fines. Militant groups such as Boko Haram threaten, attack, and kill journalists in connection with their reporting of the sect's activities. Journalists practice self-censorship.["Nigeria"]
''Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2012'', Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, U.S. Department of State, 4 April 2013. Retrieved 22 February 2014.
Reporting on political corruption and security issues has proved to be particularly sensitive. On 24 October 2012 police in Bauchi State
Bauchi State (Fula: ''Leydi Bauchi'' 𞤤𞤫𞤴𞤣𞤭 𞤦𞤢𞤵𞤷𞥅𞤭) is a state in the North-East geopolitical zone of Nigeria, bordered by Kano and Jigawa to the north, Taraba and Plateau to the south, Gombe and Yobe to the e ...
arraigned civil servant Abbas Ahmed Faggo before a court for allegedly defaming the character of Governor Isa Yuguda after he posted messages on his Facebook
Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin Mosk ...
account accusing the governor of spending public funds on his son's wedding. On 4 November, the court discharged Faggo, but media reported the state government fired him later that month.[
During 2012 several Internet news sites critical of the government experienced server problems, which site owners attributed to government interference. Such disruptions usually lasted a few hours.][
In 2008 two journalists were arrested for publishing online articles and photos critical of the government.
On 4 June 2021, the Minister of Information and Culture announced that the federal government would "suspend" all operations of ]Twitter
Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
in the country for performing actions that " ndermineNigeria’s corporate existence", and that the federal government would order the National Broadcasting Commission to "immediately commence the process of licensing all OTT and social media operations" in the country. This came after Twitter deleted posts by and suspended the account of President Muhammadu Buhari
Muhammadu Buhari (born 17 December 1942) is a Nigerian politician and current president of Nigeria since 2015.
Buhari is a retired Nigerian Army major general who served as the country's military head of state from 31 December 1983 to 27 A ...
for violating its abuse policy, for making threats against the separatist group Indigenous People of Biafra
The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) is a nationalist separatist group in Nigeria that aims to restore the Republic of Biafra, a country which seceded from Nigeria prior to the Nigerian Civil War (1967-1970) and later rejoined Nigeria after i ...
which had invoked the Nigerian Civil War
The Nigerian Civil War (6 July 1967 – 15 January 1970), also known as the Nigerian–Biafran War or the Biafran War, was a civil war fought between Nigeria and the Republic of Biafra, a secessionist state which had declared its independence ...
as a theme. Buhari criticised the actions for infringing his freedom of speech. Pursuant to this action, Twitter has been blocked in Nigeria as of 5 June, and use of the service was made a prosecutable offence. On 13 January 2022, Nigerian government revoked the ban on Twitter after the company agreed to setup a subsidiary in Nigeria for judicial compliance.
See also
* Nigerian weather and communications satellites
The Nigerian government has commissioned the overseas production and launch of four satellites.
Satellites Nigeriasat-1
The Nigeriasat-1 was the first satellite to be built under the Nigerian government sponsorship. The satellite was launched ...
* Media in Nigeria
* Terrestrial fibre optic cable projects in Nigeria
* Digital divide in Nigeria
References
*
*
External links
Nigeria Internet Group
(NIG), a not-for-profit, non-governmental organization, promoting the Internet in Nigeria.
Nigeria Information & Technology Development Agency
(NITDA), the government clearing house for all IT projects in the public sector in Nigeria.
Nigeria Communication Commission
the independent National Regulatory Authority for the telecommunications industry in Nigeria.
{{Internet censorship by country
Economy of Nigeria