On a brisk January morning at the Sheraton Lagos Hotel, experts, regulators, telecom operators and analysts gathered under one roof, not to talk about new phones or faster data speeds, but to confront a far bigger issue shaping the future of the digital economy.
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), the sector’s chief regulator, has formally engaged global consultancy PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) to conduct the first comprehensive, independent study of competition in the nation’s telecommunications industry in over a decade.
This is coming about 13 years after such a study was conducted and subsequent approval of a 50per cent tariff adjustment to mobile network operators (MNOs) by the regulator last year.
Mrs Omotayo Mohammed, head, Competition and Tariff at the NCC, in her opening remarks at the Stakeholders’ Forum on the Study on the Level of Competition in the Nigerian Telecom Industry, noted that the telecom market has evolved significantly over the past years.
According to her, revenue models have shifted, investment patterns have changed, and new forms of market interaction have emerged.
“We are witnessing rapid technological change, evolving consumer expectations and usage patterns, rising investment costs, and heightened competitive pressures.
Concurrently, concerns around barriers to entry, market concentration, sustainability of smaller players, and quality of service continue to warrant careful consideration. These dynamics highlight the importance of continuous validation of competition policy assumptions against current market evidence,” she said.
She underscored the need for commitment to a sector that has become the backbone of the nation’s digital economy, contributing about 9.1per cent to national GDP as at Q3 2025.
“The telecommunications sector serves as a critical enabler of growth, inclusion, innovation and service delivery across all sectors of the economy,” Mrs Mohammed said.
This development marks more than a policy exercise. It reflects an inflection point for an industry that has been pivotal to Nigeria’s digital transformation, from the early days of voice calls to the current era of mobile broadband, data services, and over-the-top platforms that challenge traditional revenue models.
Why Now? A Market in Transition
Over the years, Nigeria’s telecom sector has experienced explosive growth in subscribers and services.
But while subscriber numbers balloon, questions are emerging around how competition is functioning, especially in a market dominated by a handful of large players.
Smaller operators, industry observers and consumer groups have expressed concern that market dominance by major operators could stifle innovation, limit consumer choice, and ultimately weaken the dynamism that has defined the sector’s past growth.
In response, the NCC is turning to PwC to bring a data-driven lens to the sector’s competitive structure.
Mandated under Section 92 of the Nigerian Communications Act (NCA) 2003 and the Competition Practices Regulations (CPR) 2007, the study will use rigorous analytics to diagnose the current competitive dynamics, identify barriers to entry, and assess whether the regulatory framework is fit for today’s technological realities.
From Voice to Data: A New Competitive Frontier
The telecommunications industry in Nigeria has evolved well beyond voice services. Data now drives value, underpinning e-commerce, digital banking, enterprise services, and the nation’s fast-expanding digital economy. That evolution has also blurred traditional competitive lines.
Global trends, including slowing revenue growth from legacy services and the rise of digital platforms, are reshaping how operators compete.
Against that backdrop, this PwC review is more than regulatory housekeeping: it is a strategic calibration aimed at ensuring competition remains fair, sustainable, and future-ready.
A Fair and Inclusive Process
What stands out about this initiative is the participatory approach. PwC’s engagement includes broad stakeholder consultations, bringing together established mobile network operators, new entrants, industry associations, consumer advocates and civil society, to ensure the study captures the diversity of market experiences and perspectives.
This is critical because the outcomes of the study will inform the NCC’s regulatory roadmap, potentially shaping decisions that could impact pricing behaviour, market entry conditions, and investment incentives for years to come.
What’s at Stake for Investors
For the investment community, the implications are significant. Telecoms is not just one of Nigeria’s largest industries, contributing approximately 9.1 per cent to the country’s Gross Domestic Product, it is also a linchpin of digital growth across sectors.
Here’s what investors should watch:
- Regulatory predictability: A robust competition framework can reduce uncertainty, bolster investor confidence, and unlock capital for network expansion, service innovation, and new business models.
- Market dynamics: By spotlighting how competition has evolved, the study may influence how operators allocate resources between voice, data, enterprise solutions, and digital services.
- Consumer outcomes: Fair competition typically leads to better pricing, improved service quality, and wider access, all of which drive higher adoption and usage, expanding the sector’s revenue base.
- Policy direction: The findings could trigger regulatory reforms with implications for licensing, pricing, spectrum allocation, and consumer protections.
Turning the Page
Telecoms has long been a success story in Nigeria’s economic narrative. But success breeds complexity, and complexity demands clarity.
With this PwC-guided study, the NCC is signalling that it is ready to confront new challenges with evidence rather than intuition.
In doing so, the regulator is not merely evaluating competition, it is shaping the competitive architecture of Nigeria’s digital economy.
For investors, operators and consumers alike, this moment is less about today’s market share figures and more about where the sector is headed next.
As regulators, industry players and analysts await the study’s findings, one thing is clear: the performance of Nigeria’s telecom sector, and the depth of competition within it, will continue to be a defining factor in the nation’s digital transformation.
