Low South East internet usage places zone near bottom among peers
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Tech experts have blamed the low internet penetration in the South East on lack of infrastructure and government involvement to encourage private investors to help build broadband facility in an otherwise economically active region.
All the South Eastern states – Anambra, Abia, Ebonyi, Enugu, and Imo – had a combined internet subscriber base of 13.7 million in the fourth quarter ended December 2021 (Q4 2021), according to National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) data.
In contrast, Lagos alone in the South West had 18.94 million or 12.3 per cent of the total national internet subscriber base of 154.3 million. Lagos had the highest subscribers of all states and recorded 5.24 million more than the entire South East.
The figure for the South East was the lowest among the six zones, lower than even that of the North East ravaged by Boko Haram insurgency.
NBS data on zonal internet users in Q4 2021 shows:
- South West – 41.7 million
- North Central – 26.6 million
- North West – 25.4 million
- South South – 20.8 million
- North East – 13.8 million
- South East – 13.7 million
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Performance by network
NBS data on regional internet users on the big four networks in Q4 2021 shows:
South West
- MTN – 15.7 million
- Globacom – 13.2 million
- Airtel – 10.4 million
- 9mobile – 2.19 million
North Central
- MTN – 9.7 million
- Globacom – 9.6 million
- Airtel – 6.1 million
- 9mobile – 1.11 million
North West
- MTN – 11.8 million
- Airtel – 7.6 million
- Globacom – 5 million
- 9mobile – 854,698
South South
- MTN – 8.3 million
- Globacom – 6.7 million
- Airtel – 4.9 million
- 9mobile – 750,664
North East
- MTN – 6.27 million
- Airtel – 5.2 million
- Globacom – 2 million
- 9mobile – 240,787
South East
- MTN – 6.93 million
- Airtel – 3.2 million
- Globacom – 2.9 million
- Airtel – 596,752
Highest voice subscribers
- Lagos
- Kano
- Ogun
Lowest voice subscribers
- Ebonyi
- Bayelsa
Views of experts
Tech experts and enthusiasts all are united in their views that the poor internet penetration in the South East is the result of inadequate infrastructure and an environment not friendly to tech growth, as reported below in a survey by Vanguard.
Collins Onuegbu (Signal Alliance founder and Executive Vice Chairman)
“One of the factors against fast internet penetration in the south East is inadequate infrastructure. Of particular concern is little or no broadband connection in the region.
“I remember I worked with one of the governments in the South East and one of the things recommended was the focus on broadband connectivity and that we should collaborate with telecommunications companies to bring broadband connectivity.
“So until the region improves on that it’s going to remain a problem.
“Sometimes it’s also about Right of Way. The South East is very difficult to do business.
“Sometimes, telecom companies struggle to put the infrastructure that will provide connectivity. So, to boost penetration, governments at all levels there should make the environment business friendly.
“I think the telecom companies should have to get support from the local governments to make sure that infrastructure are easily deployed there.”
Ugochi Igbojekwe (Country Lead for UzorTech)
“For instance, if there is no power supply for two days, your internet would not run. If you have a modem, it could have died because you didn’t charge it.
“So, I will say it’s about infrastructure and which also bothers on what government can do. If the government can provide enabling environment that can allow technology thrive I think that would go a long way.”
Adetayo Bamiduro (Metro Africa Xpress co-founder & CEO)
“For you to have access to the internet you need to have data and if people are not earning enough money to afford data that presents a lot of challenges.
“So, it’s not just an infrastructure challenge, it also has to do with access to finance or income level challenge.
“The more we enable our people to earn more money and create economic opportunities for them, the more they can afford constant access to the internet.”
Etop Ikpe (Autocheck Africa CEO)
“What it means basically is that most individuals or subscribers over there were not captured and could not provide their NIN registration.
“The essence of the exercise was to ensure that every internet user can be identified as an individual. And there are users for instance who don’t want to be identified. I think it’s a compliance issue, we need to follow compliance and rules.”
