Nigeria’s data consumption rose by almost 47 per cent in one year to about 1.6 million terabytes in July 2026, putting additional pressure on the country’s digital infrastructure and highlighting persistent gaps in power, middle-mile connectivity and affordable devices.

The development was disclosed at the Nigeria Digital Connectivity Investment Forum 2026, organised by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) in partnership with Swedfund and Ookla in Abuja.

Participants at the two-day forum, which ended on September 30, said demand for digital services was growing faster than network capacity, with cloud computing and artificial intelligence expected to further increase pressure on telecommunications networks, data centres and power infrastructure.

The forum, themed “Unlocking Infrastructure Investment through Data, Transparency and Partnerships,” brought together government officials, regulators, investors, development finance institutions, telecommunications operators, infrastructure companies and other industry stakeholders to examine barriers to digital infrastructure investment.

The participants noted that while mobile broadband coverage now reaches about 90 per cent of Nigerians, smartphone ownership remains at about 27 per cent and broadband penetration stands at 57.4 per cent, below the 70 per cent target.

They identified device affordability, digital skills and trust as increasingly important constraints, arguing that expanding network coverage alone would not be sufficient to achieve meaningful connectivity.

The forum also identified power and middle-mile connectivity as major constraints to further digital infrastructure deployment.

Participants noted that the cost of inland connectivity was limiting data centre and internet service investment largely to metropolitan areas, while unreliable and expensive power was increasing the cost of operating telecommunications infrastructure.

They called for energy and connectivity investments to be planned together, including the use of tower clusters as anchor customers for distributed power generation.

The forum further noted that digital infrastructure assets typically have a lifespan of 20 to 30 years, requiring financing structures longer than the conventional five-year bank tenor.

Speaking on financing digital infrastructure, Chief Executive Officer of Chapel Hill Denham, Bolaji Balogun, emphasised the need for investable projects, appropriate financing structures and greater capital-market participation to attract long-term private and institutional investment.

Chairman of FCMB and Managing Director of Financial Derivatives Company, Bismarck Rewane, also highlighted the importance of the cost and availability of capital, investor confidence and policy predictability in supporting infrastructure investment.

Participants said state-level policies were also influencing the pace of digital deployment, noting that Right of Way reforms had translated into fibre growth of between 22 per cent and 95 per cent in states implementing reforms.

They noted that 12 states now charge zero Right of Way fees, compared with seven in December 2024.

The forum recommended that the Federal Government accelerate Project BRIDGE, the planned 90,000-kilometre national fibre backbone, as part of efforts to address the middle-mile connectivity gap.

It also called for measures to improve the availability and reliability of power for digital infrastructure and support financing structures capable of reducing the cost of capital in the sector.

The NCC was urged to sustain reforms aimed at improving the investment environment, publish the first national Nigeria Digital Connectivity Index report, advance open-access and wholesale regulation and finalise the direct-to-device framework.

State governments were urged to reduce and harmonise Right of Way and site permit charges and shorten approval timelines, while operators and technology companies were encouraged to expand shared infrastructure and neutral-host models.

Investors and development finance institutions were also urged to match long-life digital infrastructure assets with long-tenor naira financing and use blended finance and credit enhancement to support projects that are not yet commercially ready.

The participants agreed on a series of actions covering rural connectivity, broadband mapping, wholesale regulation, indoor coverage, data centre infrastructure, telecommunications power and metro and access fibre deployment.

The NCC said it would continue engagement with stakeholders to advance the identified investment opportunities and agreed actions.