Poor infrastructure holds back Nigeria’s broadband revolution

After the astonishing growth in adoption of mobile phones, all eyes are on the next phase of the telecoms story in Africa. Nigeria’s transition from zero to 70 percent mobile penetration in just over 10 years highlights the potential in frontier markets. In the recent recalculation of Nigeria’s GDP, the telecoms sector’s share shot up to almost 9 percent, although some think the real figure could be even higher. If broadband internet penetration -- currently less than 10 percent -- grows at the same pace as mobile tele­phone services, it would give a massive boost to an economy that suffers from the country’s poor physical communications.