ATCON Projects Expansion Phase for Nigeria’s Telecoms Industry in 2026
The Association of Telecommunication Companies of Nigeria (ATCON) has projected that Nigeria’s telecommunications industry will move from a phase of consolidation in 2025 to a period of expansion in 2026.
ATCON President, Mr Tony Emoekpere, disclosed this while outlining his outlook for the sector in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.
According to him, the expected expansion will be driven by renewed investor confidence, rising digital demand and improved policy coordination across the industry. He said the sector is entering 2026 with stronger fundamentals, supported by increased collaboration among operators, regulators and the Federal Government to deepen digital inclusion.
Emoekpere noted that the outlook reflects the industry’s resilience despite significant economic and operational pressures over the past year. He described 2025 as a period marked by stabilisation and careful capital discipline.
He said telecom operators, tower companies and internet service providers remained committed to the market despite challenges such as rising energy costs, foreign exchange volatility, high equipment import costs and persistent Right-of-Way (RoW) bottlenecks.
“Rather than retreat, industry players focused on network densification in high-demand corridors and accelerated the transition to solar and hybrid energy systems to reduce dependence on diesel,” he said.
On broadband growth, Emoekpere said data from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) showed that Nigeria’s broadband penetration crossed the 50 per cent mark in 2025, driven by rising data consumption.
He attributed the growth to the increasing adoption of digital payments, streaming services, cloud computing and other online platforms in everyday life. He also commended the NCC for maintaining transparent industry reporting, enforcing Quality of Service standards and ensuring efficient spectrum management.
“These actions have helped preserve investor confidence in the sector,” Emoekpere said.
He added that growing demand from fintech, artificial intelligence and other data-intensive sectors would be a major growth driver in 2026. “If 2025 was about endurance, 2026 must be about execution, speed and scale,” he said.
Looking ahead, the ATCON president said industry players plan to intensify investments in data centres and last-mile broadband infrastructure, including fibre-to-the-home and fixed wireless access.
He stressed that visible enforcement of telecom assets as critical national infrastructure would be crucial to success in 2026, calling for coordinated action to protect fibre routes and telecom towers from vandalism and other risks.
Emoekpere also urged the harmonisation of Right-of-Way charges across states and a reduction in multiple taxation, which he said continues to place a heavy burden on operators.
Industry data shows that Nigeria’s broadband penetration stood at 50.58 per cent as of November, with 109.6 million broadband connections nationwide. While this marks a significant milestone, the country is still expected to fall short of the 70 per cent broadband penetration target set under the National Broadband Plan (2020–2025).
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