Smart cities, AI, high lending rates exposing Nigeria’s digital infrastructure gaps — Nnamani

By Admin,

Nigeria’s current telecommunications regulatory and financing environment may no longer be sufficient to support the rapidly evolving digital economy, Managing Director of Digital Realty Nigeria, Ikechukwu Nnamani, has warned.

Speaking during a telecom industry panel session, Nnamani said emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, smart cities, cloud platforms and data-driven ecosystems are exposing significant gaps in Nigeria’s existing regulatory and investment framework.

According to him, while the National Telecommunications Policy introduced in 2000 played a critical role in liberalising the telecom market and driving industry growth, the world has changed dramatically over the last 25 years.

He argued that many of the technologies now shaping global economies did not exist when the policy was developed.

“If you look at the objectives of the National Telecommunications Policy introduced in 2000, you will realise that it was never just about telecommunications,” Nnamani said.

“The policy worked effectively at the time and helped liberalise the market. However, the world has changed significantly over the last 25 years.”

He noted that communication has evolved far beyond traditional voice and SMS services, with digital interactions increasingly occurring through internet-based platforms.

“Today, discussions are no longer centred only around voice calls and SMS,” he said.

“Communication has shifted to digital platforms such as Facebook, X, WhatsApp and other internet-based services. SMS itself is now mainly used for authentication and monetisation purposes.”

According to Nnamani, this transformation requires a corresponding shift in regulation.

“The question now is: what role should regulators play in this evolving environment?” he asked.

“Existing licensing structures were designed for an era dominated by voice and traditional telecom services. Today, operators are dealing with smart cities, cloud platforms, artificial intelligence and data-driven ecosystems.”

He pointed to smart city development as a clear example of where regulatory uncertainty exists.

“For example, if someone wants to build a smart city today, which regulator oversees that process?” he queried.

“The traditional licensing frameworks do not clearly address these emerging realities.”

Nnamani also highlighted the central role of data centres and cloud infrastructure in the digital economy, arguing that earlier telecom policies could not have anticipated their importance.

“The same applies to data centres,” he said.

“Virtually everything in today’s digital economy depends on data centres, yet they were not central considerations when the original telecom policies were developed.”

Beyond regulation, Nnamani warned that access to affordable financing remains one of the biggest obstacles to digital infrastructure expansion in Nigeria.

According to him, infrastructure projects requiring long-term capital cannot realistically thrive under prevailing lending conditions.

“Access to affordable financing is equally critical,” he said.

“Infrastructure projects cannot realistically succeed with interest rates of nearly 30 per cent and short repayment periods.”

His remarks come amid growing concern within the technology ecosystem over the widening gap between Nigeria’s digital ambitions and the economic realities confronting infrastructure developers.

Nnamani said financing challenges are compounded by high deployment costs, expensive electricity, multiple taxation and weak enforcement protecting telecom infrastructure.

“The high cost of infrastructure deployment remains a major challenge,” he said.

“Deploying digital infrastructure in Nigeria is significantly more expensive than in countries such as South Africa.”

He further criticised high import duties on ICT equipment and overlapping regulatory demands facing operators, describing them as barriers discouraging investment.

Another major concern, he said, is the concentration of critical digital infrastructure in Lagos.

“We must also address the concentration of digital infrastructure in Lagos,” Nnamani said.

“While Lagos remains important, it is not healthy for the country if nearly all critical digital infrastructure is concentrated in one location.”

He argued that distributing digital assets across Nigeria would strengthen resilience and support more inclusive economic growth.

Nnamani also raised concerns over domestic internet transport costs, describing the situation as economically unsustainable.

“Today, in some cases, it is more expensive to transport internet capacity between Lagos and another Nigerian city than between Lagos and South Africa,” he said.

“That is a serious issue that must be addressed.”

He stressed that Nigeria’s digital future depends on aligning regulation with technological innovation while also creating financing structures capable of supporting large-scale infrastructure investment.

Expressing optimism about the ongoing telecommunications policy review, Nnamani said the process presents an opportunity to modernise regulation, close emerging policy gaps and create an environment that supports innovation, investment and long-term digital growth.

“We are now in the age of artificial intelligence,” he said.

“The policies developed 25 years ago could not have anticipated the rise of AI. The challenge now is determining what kind of policies are required in the AI era and how operators whose traditional services are becoming obsolete can adapt.”