A new report by the GSM Association (GSMA) says that Nigeria stands to gain an additional N862-billion by 2015 from mobile broadband.The report, which focuses on Nigeria and the economic impact of broadband, was unveiled in Lagos on Monday and reveals that the 1.22% growth will be driven by High Speed Packet Access (HSPA) and Long Term Evolution (LTE).
It calls for policies that would remove challenges such as multiple taxation and inadequate infrastructure. The report also suggested that the management of the spectrum should fall under one agency and to free spectrum at 2500-2690MHZ to enable countrywide coverage.
Significant investment has been made in Nigeria's telecommunications sector in recent years, particulary in the mobile phone segment. MTN Nigeria has the highest share of subscribers with 45.3%, Globacom - 22% share, Airtel - 17.1%, Etisalat - 8.1%, Visafone - 2.4%, Multilinks - 2.1%, Starcomms - 1.2% and Zoom with 1.6% share.
But according to the report, the broadband figures are still below key BRIC's status, essentially because of the lack of fixed-line infrastructure in Nigeria.
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