Communications in Nigeria
Encyclopedia
Telephone
s - main lines in use:
2,469,552 (2007 est.)
Mobile Cellular phones : 43,066,679(2007 est.)
Telephones - mobile cellular:
Recent deregulation of the mobile phone market has led to the introduction of Global System for Mobile communication (GSM) network providers operating on the 900/1800 MHz spectrum, MTN Nigeria http://www.mtnonline.com, Zain http://www.ng.zain.com/en/index.html, Globacom http://www.gloworld.com and MTel http://www.mtelnigeria.com. Use of cell-phones have soared, and have mostly replaced the unreliable services of the Nigerian Telecommunications Limited (NITEL
). The current estimate lies at about 45.5 million mobile phones as at August 2007, with most people having more than one cellphone.
Nigeria's telecom regulator, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), introduced the Unified Licencing Regime with the expiration of the exclusivity period of the main GSM network providers. It is hoped that the telcos with the unified licence would be able to provide fixed and mobile telephony, Internet access as well as any other communications service they choose to offer.
Telephone system:
an inadequate system, further limited by poor maintenance; major expansion is required and a start has been made. New cellular phone introduction has fixed the communication problem to a large part.
domestic:
intercity traffic is carried by coaxial cable, microwave radio relay, a domestic communications satellite system with 19 earth stations, and a coastal submarine cable; mobile cellular facilities and the Internet are available
international:
satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat
(2 Atlantic Ocean
and 1 Indian Ocean
); coaxial submarine cable SAFE (South African Far East)
Radio
broadcast
stations:
AM 83, FM 36, shortwave 11 (2001)
Radios:
23.5 million (1997)
Television
broadcast stations:
116 stations (40 cable stations) (2007)
The largest broadcasting companies are the government-owned Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN)http://www.nbc-nig.org/NBC1/LICENSED%20STATIONS.htm and the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA)http://www.nta.com.ng/. The NTA has two television services. One is NTA 1, which is distributed among NTA's six television zones. The other is NTA 2, which is distributed nationwide and is funded mostly by advertising. Nitel owns a majority of the transmitters that broadcast FRCN and NTA programming.
Each state also has a broadcasting company that broadcasts one or two locally operated terrestrial stations. This means that there are about 50 government owned, but partly independent television stations. A new player in the Nigerian television scene is a private company called Minaj Broadcast International (MBI) http://www.minajmedia.com/ . Most of their programming is aimed for the African and Caribbean TV markets, but is broadcast globally from Lagos, Abuja, Obosi and Port Harcourt centers. With several affiliate TV stations in some African countries. The African Independent Television (AIT) http://www.aittv.com/ is also a high profile satellite television station broadcasting globally from its Lagos and Abuja centers. Other direct satellite television stations with international reach operating in Nigeria are Channels Television, Murhi International Television, Silverbird Television, Galaxy TV, TV Continental etc all in Lagos.
There is general access to M-Net, a South African cable television station, broadcast over satellite. M-Net has offices in most Nigerian cities, and is watched by a large number of people.
NB: Some of this information is from the 1993 and 2005 editions of WRTH, the World Radio and Television Handbook and can change anytime.
Televisions:
6.9 million (1997)
Internet Service Provider
s (ISPs):
11 (2000). There is satellite access to European Satellite internet providers all over the countries. In most towns in Nigeria, there are over 6 public internet Cafes, privately owned and operated, and often connected over European internet connections.
A new dimension to internet connectivity has been introduced with hundreds of thousands of people now accessing the internet on their WAP-enabled mobile phones, smartphones and on their PCs using their phones as a modem. This is largely due to the introduction of GPRS (General Packet Radio Service) connectivity by the GSM operators. All four existing GSM networks presently offer GPRS services and plans are underway for the introduction of 3G/UMTS in 2006.
VSAT has remained the best solution for remote internet access in Nigeria. One of the leading VSAT service providers is Syscomptech, they were voted the best Direct VSAT Marketers in 2008 and maintains satellites with direct footprints over Nigeria.
Internet Hosts:
1,968 (2006)
8 Million (2006)
Country code
(Top level domain): .ng
Telephone
The telephone , colloquially referred to as a phone, is a telecommunications device that transmits and receives sounds, usually the human voice. Telephones are a point-to-point communication system whose most basic function is to allow two people separated by large distances to talk to each other...
s - main lines in use:
2,469,552 (2007 est.)
Mobile Cellular phones : 43,066,679(2007 est.)
Telephones - mobile cellular:
Recent deregulation of the mobile phone market has led to the introduction of Global System for Mobile communication (GSM) network providers operating on the 900/1800 MHz spectrum, MTN Nigeria http://www.mtnonline.com, Zain http://www.ng.zain.com/en/index.html, Globacom http://www.gloworld.com and MTel http://www.mtelnigeria.com. Use of cell-phones have soared, and have mostly replaced the unreliable services of the Nigerian Telecommunications Limited (NITEL
NITEL
Nigerian Telecommunications Limited, or NITEL, is the principal telecommunications company in Nigeria, and was owned by the government of Nigeria until it was sold to Mtel by the Bureau of Public Enterprises...
). The current estimate lies at about 45.5 million mobile phones as at August 2007, with most people having more than one cellphone.
Nigeria's telecom regulator, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), introduced the Unified Licencing Regime with the expiration of the exclusivity period of the main GSM network providers. It is hoped that the telcos with the unified licence would be able to provide fixed and mobile telephony, Internet access as well as any other communications service they choose to offer.
Telephone system:
an inadequate system, further limited by poor maintenance; major expansion is required and a start has been made. New cellular phone introduction has fixed the communication problem to a large part.
domestic:
intercity traffic is carried by coaxial cable, microwave radio relay, a domestic communications satellite system with 19 earth stations, and a coastal submarine cable; mobile cellular facilities and the Internet are available
international:
satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat
Intelsat
Intelsat, Ltd. is a communications satellite services provider.Originally formed as International Telecommunications Satellite Organization , it was—from 1964 to 2001—an intergovernmental consortium owning and managing a constellation of communications satellites providing international broadcast...
(2 Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
and 1 Indian Ocean
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...
); coaxial submarine cable SAFE (South African Far East)
Radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
broadcast
Broadcasting
Broadcasting is the distribution of audio and video content to a dispersed audience via any audio visual medium. Receiving parties may include the general public or a relatively large subset of thereof...
stations:
AM 83, FM 36, shortwave 11 (2001)
Radios:
23.5 million (1997)
Television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
broadcast stations:
116 stations (40 cable stations) (2007)
The largest broadcasting companies are the government-owned Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN)http://www.nbc-nig.org/NBC1/LICENSED%20STATIONS.htm and the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA)http://www.nta.com.ng/. The NTA has two television services. One is NTA 1, which is distributed among NTA's six television zones. The other is NTA 2, which is distributed nationwide and is funded mostly by advertising. Nitel owns a majority of the transmitters that broadcast FRCN and NTA programming.
Each state also has a broadcasting company that broadcasts one or two locally operated terrestrial stations. This means that there are about 50 government owned, but partly independent television stations. A new player in the Nigerian television scene is a private company called Minaj Broadcast International (MBI) http://www.minajmedia.com/ . Most of their programming is aimed for the African and Caribbean TV markets, but is broadcast globally from Lagos, Abuja, Obosi and Port Harcourt centers. With several affiliate TV stations in some African countries. The African Independent Television (AIT) http://www.aittv.com/ is also a high profile satellite television station broadcasting globally from its Lagos and Abuja centers. Other direct satellite television stations with international reach operating in Nigeria are Channels Television, Murhi International Television, Silverbird Television, Galaxy TV, TV Continental etc all in Lagos.
There is general access to M-Net, a South African cable television station, broadcast over satellite. M-Net has offices in most Nigerian cities, and is watched by a large number of people.
NB: Some of this information is from the 1993 and 2005 editions of WRTH, the World Radio and Television Handbook and can change anytime.
Televisions:
6.9 million (1997)
Internet Service Provider
Internet service provider
An Internet service provider is a company that provides access to the Internet. Access ISPs directly connect customers to the Internet using copper wires, wireless or fiber-optic connections. Hosting ISPs lease server space for smaller businesses and host other people servers...
s (ISPs):
11 (2000). There is satellite access to European Satellite internet providers all over the countries. In most towns in Nigeria, there are over 6 public internet Cafes, privately owned and operated, and often connected over European internet connections.
A new dimension to internet connectivity has been introduced with hundreds of thousands of people now accessing the internet on their WAP-enabled mobile phones, smartphones and on their PCs using their phones as a modem. This is largely due to the introduction of GPRS (General Packet Radio Service) connectivity by the GSM operators. All four existing GSM networks presently offer GPRS services and plans are underway for the introduction of 3G/UMTS in 2006.
VSAT has remained the best solution for remote internet access in Nigeria. One of the leading VSAT service providers is Syscomptech, they were voted the best Direct VSAT Marketers in 2008 and maintains satellites with direct footprints over Nigeria.
Internet Hosts:
1,968 (2006)
8 Million (2006)
Country code
Country code
Country codes are short alphabetic or numeric geographical codes developed to represent countries and dependent areas, for use in data processing and communications. Several different systems have been developed to do this. The best known of these is ISO 3166-1...
(Top level domain): .ng
See also
- NigeriaNigeriaNigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...