The Nigerian telecommunications industry contributed 10.88 percent to Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the first quarter of 2020, telecommunications regulator, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has said.
This is based on data collected by the NCC over a period of time. According to the NCC, the 10.88 percentage contribution remains the second highest contribution by the telecoms sector to the GDP and is higher than the 10.60 that the telecommunication sector contributed to the GDP in the fourth quarter of 2019 but lower than the contribution of the sector to the GDP in the second quarter of 2019.
According to the data, the telecoms sector contributed 11.39 percent to Nigeria’s GDP in the second quarter of 2019, the highest so far but analysis of the statistic showed a steady growth in percentage contribution of the sector to the GDP since the year 2012, when the commission started computing its GDP contribution to the Nigerian economy.
The Commission is responsible for creating an enabling environment for competition among operators in the industry as well as ensuring the provision of qualitative and efficient telecommunications services throughout the country.
Over the years NCC has earned a reputation as a foremost Telecom regulatory agency in Africa. The Commission is hoping to catalyze the use of ICT’S for different aspect of national development. The Commission has initiated several programs such as State Accelerated Broadband Initiative (SABI) and Wire Nigeria Project (WIN) to help stimulate demand and accelerate the uptake of ICT tools and services necessary for the enthronement of a knowledge society in Nigeria.
In order to achieve its mandate, the Commission has put in place the necessary licensing and regulatory framework for the supply of telecommunications services.
