Since Independence in 1960, the telecoms sector has impacted on the Nigerian economy in several positive ways, creating jobs and contributing to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the Nigerian economy.

Before Nigeria gained independence in 1960, communication was mainly through the telegraphic wire, initiated by the colonial masters, but after independence in 1960, the Nigeria Telecommunications Limited (NITEL), was established in 1985, following the separation of postal services from telecommunications services.

At that time, telecommunication was the exclusive right of the affluent in the society as only few people had access to telephony.

People had to queue for hours and days, just to make international calls and sometimes local calls with the 090 NITEL line.

During that period, the existing Telecom operators were NITEL and a few other Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) operators. However, the advent of GSM in 2001 eventually demystified telecommunications, and gave every Nigerian the access and right to communicate.

The introduction of GSM in 2001, increased the number of registered lines from less than 400,000 in 41 years of independence, to over one million lines in less than one year after the introduction of GSM.

After 2001, more and more Nigerians could sit at the comfort of their homes and offices to make instant calls within and outside Nigeria, through their personal hand-held devices called the mobile phones.

Banking activities are now transacted on the mobile phones, without the bank customer visiting the banks.

The most eventful period was between 2001 and 2015, when the telecoms sector was deregulated.

The Structures

In preparation for the proper regulation of the telecoms sector, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), the telecoms industry regulator was established by an Act of law in 2000, and in 2003, the Nigeria Telecommunications Act was enacted, which defined the structures of the Nigerian telecoms sector.

In 2001, the first set of GSM operators were licensed by NCC. They included Econet Wireless (now Airtel), MTN and NITEL.

In 2003, Globacom was licensed and in 2008, Etisalat, now 9mobile, was licensed, while NTEL, the mobile arm of NITEL was licensed in 2014, but rolled out services in 2016, after the successful privatisation process, through a guided liquidation exercise.

However, following the inability of NITEL to cope with competition from GSM operators, it folded up its operations and was eventually sold to NATCOM in 2014, and later re-sold to private investor after it was unbundled and it currently trades as Ntel, under a private ownership and with the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria as a majority shareholder.

Core Telcos

The core telecom operators (Telcos), such as MTN, Airtel, Globacom and 9mobile were initially licensed by NCC to provide mobile voice services.

The NCC however licensed Globacom as a Second National Operator (SNO) to offer fixed (landline), in addition to wired and wireless (mobile) services that other core operators were offering.

NCC also licensed Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to offer internet data services, but in 2005, NCC deregulated the telecoms sector and granted a five year exclusivity period to GSM operators and also extended their license to cover data service offering.

The core telecoms operators had to roll out their own telecoms infrastructure to aid network expansion across the country.

Chairman, Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), Engineer Gbenga Adebayo, said the core telcos had to reinvest their profits into telecoms infrastructure rollout because the federal government could not deploy the $285 million licence fee paid by each core operators for telecoms infrastructure rollout as early promised.

“To achieve effective network coverage, the core telcos were in building Base Transceiver Station (BTS) and connecting radio links, while at the same time, laying fibre optic cables and connecting them to BTS for effective coverage, which come at a huge cost and burden to telecoms operators. Again, the cost of maintaining BTS was on the high side, because each BTS runs on two generating sets on a 24 hours basis and the cost of diesel has continued to increase, even more so with the recent removal of fuel subsidy by the federal government,” Adebayo said.

He however said at a point, the core telcos had to outsource the building of telecoms masts (BTS) and the maintenance and operations to core infrastructure companies like IHS, to enable the core telecoms operators to focus on their core area of telecoms service delivery to telecoms subscribers.

Infrastructure Companies (InfraCos)

Infrastructure Companies like IHS, MainOne, Pan African Towers, SWAP Technologies, Zinox Technologies, Broadbased Communications, Brinks Integrated Solutions, O’dua Infraco Resources among others, were initially licensed as InfraCos to provide telecoms infrastructure across the six geo-political zones in the country, but the arrangement failed years later because of the difficulties most of the licensed faced in deploying telecoms infrastructure across the various regions.

The InfraCos were supposed to provide BTS also known as Base Stations, as well as fibre optic cables and radio links for the transmission of voice and data services, but they were resisted by agencies of state governments and social miscreants who demanded and to a large extent continue to demand outrageous amounts of money from them as condition for rollout of telecoms infrastructure in the various regions.

Some agencies of state governments either refused to grant Right of way (RoW) permit for infrastructure rollout, or arbitrarily hiked the charges for RoW in their states, thus making it difficult for InfraCos to roll out telecoms infrastructure in most states.

The situation forced some InfraCos like IHS and MainOne to return their InfraCo licence to the NCC, after paying N2.5 million for a ten-year InfraCo licence.

Some operators were licensed to deploy telecoms masts across the country, maintain the operations of telecoms masts and allow telecoms operators to collocate by fixing their radio links and antennae on the installed telecoms masts.

Operators involved in providing telecoms masts include: IHS, American Towers Company (ATC), Pan African Towers, Coloplus Limited, among others.

Telecom mast providers are faced with a myriad of challenges in deploying telecoms masts across the country, a development that affects the quality of telecoms service delivery across networks.

Multiple taxation, foreign exchange rate volatility and availability, vandalism, insecurity, asset theft, intra-industry indebtedness, non-designation of telecommunications infrastructure as Critical National Infrastructure and power solutions are some of the problems facing the industry sub-sector.

All these issues culminate in having an adverse impact on communications because the quality of service is ultimately affected.

With a gap of approximately 40,000 towers needed (without 5G) to cover the country as has repeatedly been said by NCC, these issues need to be addressed not only to improve the quality of current service delivery but also to provide network coverage for the rest of the country.

The building of towers in close proximity to already existing towers must also be addressed if national coverage is to be achieved within a reasonable time. The network must expand to currently unserved parts of the country.

Mr. Mike Ofili, CEO of Coloplus Limited, admitted to the huge challenges faced in deploying telecom masts across the country.

According to Ofili, the telecoms mast providers must have the buying and consent of telecoms operators, before investing in a single telecoms mast (Tower), which he said, cost between N35 million to N40 million, depending on the location.

Speaking on some of the challenges in deploying telecoms masts, Ofili said:

“Nigeria imports virtually everything that has to do with telecoms’ tower equipment and installation. We import the towers, generating sets, batteries, rectifiers, including iron/rod used for reinforcement. The rising cost of dollar and the weak value of the naira against the dollar, coupled with the inability to access Forex, have affected importation of equipment, thus slowed down network expansion, leading to poor telecoms’ service delivery. The issue of multiple regulation and multiple taxes imposed on telecoms’ operators by agents of governments, are also affecting the deployment of telecoms masts, which telecoms operators rely on to provide quality service to subscribers,” Ofili said.

According to him, with multiple regulations from state agencies, telcos are forced to pay for Environmental Impact Assessment fee, Right of Way (RoW) charges, mast installation charges, radioactive emission charges, among other charges that amount to multiple taxes.

“Cost of maintaining BTS is also very expensive. Nigeria has about 30,000 BTS installed across the country, with some decommissioned while about 30,000 BTS are still active, with high cost of maintenance. The cost of diesel to power a BTS is on the increase and the financial demand from non-state actors who parade themselves as social miscreants, is becoming rampant and impacting negatively on the running cost of a BTS. Network operators had tried severally to increase cost of telecoms services delivery in line with the rising cost of providing telecoms services, but the regulator, the NCC, will not agree, and the situation is adversely affecting telecoms operations across networks,” Ofili said.

Other sources online put the number of installed towers in Nigeria at over 40,000 as at 2021.

The development slowed down network expansion of telecoms operators and invariably, quality of telecoms service delivery has been adversely affected.

Following the collapse of the InfraCo arrangement, telecoms infrastructure providers started making personal negotiations to roll out telecoms infrastructure, but at a very slow pace that is negatively affecting telecoms service delivery, because the telecoms operators largely depend on the telecoms infrastructure companies to deliver telecoms services to the subscribers.

Speaking on some other challenges faced by telecoms operators, Engr. Gbenga Adebayo, the Chairman of the Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria (ALTON),  said maintenance of BTS was becoming a major challenge as cost of diesel continued to rise since the removal of fuel subsidy by the federal government.

According to Adebayo, the operators have called for an increase in telecoms tariff, but the move has always been resisted by the NCC and the telecoms subscribers.

Adebayo added that all other sectors of the Nigerian economy have had reasons to increase cost of service delivery to the people because of the prevailing circumstances in the country occasioned by fuel subsidy removal, but there had always been resistance each time the telcos talk about price increase.

Value Added Service (VAS) Operators

VAS operators are another set of operators that the telecoms operators rely on in providing quality telecoms services to telecoms subscribers.

VAS operators are licensed by the NCC to provide value added services that will enable telecom operators to serve telecom subscribers in a most effective way. Although they do not have telecoms infrastructure, they ride on existing telecoms infrastructure to offer telecom services that are regarded as value added services to telecom operators.

Their services are essential because they determine the quality of service that telcos offer to their subscribers.

Some of the services include: Call waiting, Call forwarding, multi-party conferencing, Short Message Service (SMS), and special ringtones.

The major challenge faced by VAS operators is in the area of pricing of the solutions developed and offered by VAS operators.

Mr. Chijioke Ezeh, National Chairman of VAS operators, who confirmed the issue of pricing, said the issue still persists, because the sharing ratio between VAS operators and telecoms operators are never favorable to VAS operators. According to him, the telecoms operators will want to take the lion share from the proceeds of any VAS solution offered by telecoms operators, just because the telecoms operators own the telecoms infrastructure on which the VAS solution rides on.

Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNO)

In addition to the services that Value Added Service (VAS) operators are offering in the telecoms sector, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), recently licensed 25 Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNO) that will also ride on the existing telecoms infrastructure to provide telecoms services that will enhance telecoms subscribers’ experience.

REVEALED: First Set of Licensed MVNOs in Nigeria

Although many industry analysts have blamed the licensing of 25 MVNOs, insisting it would lead to duplication of solutions and harsh competition between VAS operators and MVNOs. National Chairman of VAS operators, Mr. Chijioke Eze, however said both VAS and MVNOs could collaborate and offer quality services without any form of friction.

Internet Service Providers (ISPs)

The Internet Service Providers (ISPs) are another set of operators licensed by NCC to provide internet connectivity for data services.

Their role is interwoven with telecom operators that also offer data services, alongside voice services.

The interwoven nature of the role of both operators is causing great concern to ISPs that are smaller in size and capacity. Because the telcos have the numbers, with a subscriber base of over 220 million across networks, they appear to run out the smaller ISPs that have less subscriber base.

Commenting on the situation, Mr. Charles Anudo, the CEO of Swift Networks, who is an ISP, said most ISPs are being suffocated by Telecom operators that provide the same data service with ISP.

Top Internet Service Providers in Nigeria 2023

According to him, ISPs were originally licensed to provide data services, while telcos were originally licensed to provide voice services.

He however said the deregulation of the telecoms sector, provided opportunity for telcos to offer data services, a development, he said, was already affecting ISPs. He called on the regulator to ensure protection of ISPs, especially the smaller ISPs, in order to save them from going into extinction.

From the analysis above, it is evident that the challenges in the telecoms sector is not only embedded with telecoms operators, as it cuts across several sub-sectors like VAS, InfraCos, MVNOs, and ISPs, making it a web of challenges that has to be addressed by all the players in the industry, including the regulator, the NCC.

Olajide Adisa, is a Telecoms/ICT Analysts & Commentator writes from Abuja

According to the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC’s) industry statistics, the total number of connected subscribers reached three hundred and fifty-one thousand, eight hundred and seventeen (351,817).

An Internet service provider (ISP) is an organisation that provides services for accessing, using, or participating in the Internet.

Internet service providers can be organised in various forms, such as commercial, community-owned, non-profit, or otherwise privately owned.

Internet services typically provided by ISPs can include Internet access, Internet transit, domain name registration, web hosting, Usenet service, and colocation.

An ISP typically serves as the access point or the gateway that provides a user, access to everything available on the Internet.

TechEconomy.ng Intelligence Unit’s findings show the total number of active subscribers by the ISPs increased to one hundred and ninety-eight thousand and ninety (198,090) which is thirty thousand, nine hundred and ninety-nine (30,999) higher than the one hundred and sixty-seven thousand, and ninety-one (167,091) recorded as at August 2020.

The NCC’s statistics also shows the 72 top Internet Service Providers (ISPs) have a total of 1879 Points-of-Presence (PoP).

In this report by TechEconomy.ng, we listed the top 20 Internet Service Providers (ISPs) with regards to the number of connected and active subscribers per individual internet service provider (ISP). The statistics are drawn from the latest industry report on the NCC website:

1. Spectranet

Spectranet leads the top 20 Internet Service Providers (ISPs) in Nigeria. The company was awarded a License from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) in 2009 to promote Internet services across the country.

Spectranet was among the first Internet Service Providers to launch 4G LTE internet service in Nigeria and aims to be a leader in the Internet Services space.

Spectranet accounts for 249,179 out of the total 351,817 connected subscribers on ISPSs networks. This shows Spectranet added 3,340 connected subscribers in one year when compared to 245,839 it recorded in 2020.

The ISP has 119,612 active subscribers during the period under review. This shows a decrease of about 16,113 when compared to 135,725 it recorded in 2020. The point of presence reduced from 632 it had in 2020 to 629 in 2021.

2. Tizeti

In today’s digital ecosystem, telecommunication has become the foundation for businesses, governments, communities, and families to seamlessly connect and share information.

Unfortunately, access to the internet is still patchy across the African continent. Only 43% of Africa is on the internet, which is approximately 590 million of the population of 1.37 Billion.

One company really positioned to disrupt this market is Tizeti launched 7 years ago.  Tizeti came on stream at the time many Internet Service Providers (ISPs) are dead or dying.

The company is leveraging the large wireless capacity available with Wi-fi and plummeting cost of solar panels to create a low CAPEX/OPEX network of owned & operated towers to offer disruptive, customer-friendly pricing for unlimited internet service right across Africa.

Tizeti provides high speed broadband internet to Residences, businesses, Events, Conferences and deploys public Wi-fi Hotspot at locations across Africa.

In 2021, Tizeti recorded 21,224 connected subscribers which is less than 21,655 in recorded in 2020. However, the active subscribers increased from 11,195 in 2020 to 15,790 last year. Surprisingly, the point of presence is now 1, compared to 109 in 2020.

3. IPNX

ipNX is one of the innovative top 20 Internet Service Providers (ISPs) in Nigeria. In 2021, the company launched FOS Xtreme1000, a new broadband service offering 1 Gigabit Per Second (1Gbps) speed to residential users, becoming the first player in the Nigerian market to offer such high speeds.

ipNX as one of Nigeria’s fastest growing Internet service providers serves a multitude of needs across enterprises, small businesses and residents with innovative, world-class services.

Its ability to identify, satisfy and exceed today’s market needs is a testament to over a decade of experience, commitment, drive and passion realized through highly skilled and well-seasoned professionals.

As a pioneer and a leading Fibre-To-The-Home (FTTH) operator in Nigeria, IPNX currently accounts for 15, 582 connected subscribers; 11,107 active subscribers with two Points of Presence.

4. Astramix Ltd

Astramix Limited is an Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) firm licensed by Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) for Internet Service Providing.

Information about the company is very scanty on the Internet. But statistics by the Nigerian Communications Commission shows that Astramix Limited has 15,001 connected subscribers with 10,001 active subscribers across       6 Points of Presence.

5. VDT Communications

VDT is a licensed Private Network service provider specializing in the provision of Enterprise Wide Area Network (WAN) and Metropolitan Area Network (MAN) link connectivity using Fiber Optic and Wireless Communication infrastructure and access networks.

As one of the top 20 Internet Service Providers VDT providers  corporate organizations with leased Fiber Optic trunks to the thirty-six (36) states in Nigeria and the FCT, where they have 58 Point-Of-Presence (POP) and complement of technical support staffers. It has also launched broadband service for the mass market. VDT’s total connected subscribers increased to 9,424 in 2020 from 2,404 in 2021. The total active subscribers also increased from 1,731 to 6,814.

6. Cyberspace Network Ltd

Let’s tell you about Cyberspace as one of the leading ISPs in Nigeria. In 2014, it was deployed 4G LTE network infrastructure to bring to the customers an undeniable feel of 10x more Speed, Mobility, Security, Throughput, and Reduced Latency from anything the world had ever seen before then.

Cyberspace prides its superfast 4G LTE internet service as always been affordable, high quality and reliable. They have a variety of packages to choose from and whether you need single- or multi-user access, all of its devices are simple to use. From NCC’s statistics, Cyberspace 4G LTE has 7,930 connected subscribers; 5,710 active subscribers in     9 Points of Presence.

7. 21st Century Limited:

21st Century Technologies Limited (21CTL) is a Licensed Information Communications and Technology Services provider, fully mobilized and well positioned to build converged multi-service and efficiently managed networks nationwide.

21st Century Technologies Limited has its corporate head office at Plot 249A Muri Okunola Street, Victoria Island Extension with branches nationwide.

The company has its eyes on creating a worry-free communications network that meets the customers’ IT challenges and overall business goals. 21st Century Technologies has 5,315 connected subscribers and 2,601 active subscribers. It has 3 Points of Presence.

8. Broadbased Communications

Broadbased Communications Limited has distinguished itself as one of the top 20 Internet Service Providers in Nigeria. The company is a leading operator of open access Metropolitan Fiber Optic Network covering all the major business districts in Lagos.

Consequently the company provides Fiber Optic Network connectivity for Mobile Network Operators, 4G Network Operators, all the Submarine Cable Landing Stations, all Major Internet Service Providers, all Data Centers, Nigeria Internet Exchange Point, major Global Telecom Operators, all the Banks, the Nigerian Stock Exchange, all Electronic Payment Switching and Processing companies, Oil Companies, major Corporate firms and Residential Estates in partnership with other Telecom Service Providers in each Estate.

The company also provides International Voice, Data and SMS Gateway Services, National Voice Services, Internet Services and Wholesale Value Added Services (VAS Aggregator Services).

Broadbased Communications has 3,700 connected subscribers; 3,500 active subscribers and 1 Point of Presence.

9. Cobranet Ltd

Cobranet Limited is one of the long lasting Internet Service and data providers in Nigeria. Since its launch in 2003, Cobranet provides Internet Service and Data management solution to the digital universe. The company has been consistent as one of the top 20 Internet Service Providers in the country.

As an ISP, Cobranet offers corporate internet plans for organizations and medium sized businesses over a state- of- the -art -radio network in Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt as well as residential plans on a network topology which is rugged, dynamic and fully redundant with negligible downtimes.

Cobranet’s promise is to continue to provide innovative and world class solutions at the best feature-to price and service –to –price ratio to ensure that customers achieve their targets while enjoying the peace of mind of being Cobranet subscribers. It has 3268 connected subscribers of which all are active and it has 1 Point of Presence.

10. Suburban Fiber Company Limited

Suburban Fiber Company Limited entered the Nigerian telecommunications market providing intelligence, statistical analysis, consultation, networks.

The company started providing mobile phone companies with intercity and international transmission facilities, which established Suburban as an industry leader in this segment with 60% market share from 2003-06.

In less than 5 years the industry evolved to industry innovation leadership in advanced fiber technology, multimedia content distribution, and cloud platform services – a position it has been able to sustain over the last 20 years, among other achievements.

As at December 2021, Suburban Fiber Company Limited, has 3,200 connected subscribers. All the subscribers are active according to NCC statistics. The company has 3 Points of Presence.

11. Radical Technology Network Ltd

Radical Technology Network Ltd, now Coollink.ng, is one of the top internet service providers in Nigerian. Over the years, the ISP has ensured the highest levels of customer responsiveness and service quality, a trait which has earned it long-standing relationships with the subscribers and made Coollink.ng one of the most reliable ISPs in Nigeria.

The service offerings include solutions to provide customers with value-added services and support, enabling them to focus on their business instead of their network and internet connection.

In 2009 Coollink.ng was the 1st African ISP to sign up with the Ka-band satellite operator Yahsat being the first to believe in the Ka-band technology on the continent.

In 2016 Coollink.ng has been contracted by Facebook to deploy the ExpressWifi solution in Nigeria, being the 1st West African company selected by Facebook for ExpressWifi.

In 2017, the ISP was appointed Strategic Partner for the whole of West Africa by NSSLGlobal one of the World’s biggest and best satellite communications service provider. It also signed a partnership agreement with Konnect-Africa, set up by Eutelsat in 2015, to expend the Ka-band services across the continent. With 2,260 Connected Subscribers, Coollink.ng has 2,260 active subscribers across 6 Points of Presence.

12. MainOne Cable

MainOne is a household name as a broadband infrastructure in West Africa. Through its Global Internet Access (GIA) Service, MainOne provides your business with secure and direct access to the internet across the globe. The platform offers direct access to MainOne’s submarine cable system.

The network is directly peered with local and leading global Internet Exchange Points as well as Tier-1 networks. This service supports applications that require access to, and from the Internet in real-time. It enables employees and external stakeholders share information via reliable, fast and secure access to the global internet.

MainOne has achieved many feats as one of the top 20 Internet Service Providers; a topnotch broadband infrastructure company providing innovative telecoms services and network solutions across West Africa.

Since its launch in 2010, MainOne has developed a reputation for providing highly reliable services to major telecom operators, ISPs, government agencies, small to large enterprises, and educational institutions in West Africa.

MainOne also owns a data centre subsidiary, MDXi which builds and operates Tier III data centres across West Africa. MainOne has 1,569 connected subscribers and all of them are active subscribers. It has 6 Points of Presence.

13. Dotmac Technologies Ltd

Dotmac Technologies Ltd is a top Internet Service Provider in Abuja, delivering broadband internet via Fiber to the Home Technology.

The company was established in 2008, as an experienced ICT company with a wide range of services that are designed to improve and optimize the services of the clients. These include:  Network services, Broadband Internet, VSAT, MPLS, Cloud services, etc.

Through its dynamic service provisioning, Dotmac Technologies proffers IT solutions and services to meet business needs which require extremely flexible solutions.

Therefore, the ability to always provide a specific solution is its greatest asset. This is done every single time by incorporating its project management skills with the knowledge and expertise of technology that has been tested and proven.

As a Gold partner of NigComSat, Dotmac is Licensed by the Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC) with membership in the Abuja Chamber of Commerce and the Association of Telecommunication Companies of Nigeria (ATCON).

Dotmac Technologies boasts of 1,413 connected subscribers; 1,149 are active subscribers across its 5 Points of Presence.

14. Hyperia Ltd

Hyperia is a member of CIS & Chagoury group of companies and one of the oldest names in the African Internet space, having achieved its license in Nigeria since 1997.

Hyperia has its Head Quarters in VI, Lagos and branch offices in several cities in Nigeria. CIS Group, a prominent name in the IT space has its presence in 42 counties in Africa.

As Nigeria’s first Internet Backbone service provider, Hyperia is dedicated to providing low cost and easy access to the Internet, using the very latest in Internet technology.

Knowing the peculiar environment in which it operates, Hyperia has put in place a dependable and secure network making use of ‘state of the art’ equipment, thereby forming a most reliable Internet Backbone, first of its kind in Nigeria. Hyperia has 1,358 connected subscribers who are also active subscribers across the 4 Points of Presence.

15. Inq. Digital Nigeria Limited

Inq. Digital’s experience in African telecommunications spans over two decades and today, it connects over 1200 of the continent’s largest and leading corporations in over 40 countries.

Inq. Digital Nigeria Limited works closely with multinationals in all sectors of African commerce – from banking and finance, oil and gas, mining and construction right through to retail and distribution , as well as tourism.

Headquartered in Mauritius, Inq. Digital were founded in 2013 as a Convergence Partners company, which is an investment management firm focused on the Technology, Media and Telecommunications sector in Africa.

Through its Connect Fibre, Connect Wireless, Connect Satellite and Red Unlimited services, Inq. Digital Nigeria Limited keeps your business connected at the speed of light, ensuring your business is always on, responsive and ready to make the most of emerging opportunities.

Statistics-wise, Inq. Digital Nigeria Limited has 1,206 connected subscribers. All the subscribers are active and spread across 28 Points of Presence.

16. Internet Solutions Nigeria Ltd

Internet Solutions Nigeria Ltd. (ISN) is another Systems Integrator & Internet Service provider serving a diverse client base in various sectors in Nigeria and West Africa.

Since Inception in 1997, ISN continues to provide specialized services to organizations which include multinationals, local corporations and residential clients.

The company has 2 decades (20 years) of experience delivering high quality ICT services and solutions. Its coverage supports the PAN-Nigerian clients with the core network build backed up via multiple carriers.

ISN specializes in providing satellite, fixed and wireless, customized networks, Web design and Hosting, network infrastructure and software solutions.

With 846 connected subscribers who are active, ISN has two Points of Presence.

17. I-World Networks Ltd

I-World Networks is rapidly expanding the Next Generation Fixed Wireless Internet connection for Home & Business with Reliable, Cost effective Unlimited internet service at a peak speed of 1Gbps real internet speed.

With its Residential/SME, and Enterprise/business/institution plans you can be assured of internet service coverage to meet your connectivity needs.

I-World Networks also implements and supports various network infrastructure with security, reliability, and quality as business culture. Business and organization constantly grows, the key foundation of our solution stands on scalability, reliability, and security.

It has 847 Connected subscribers. From the number TechEconomy.ng gathered that 629 are active subscribers. I-World Networks has 1 Point of Presence.

18. BrainShare Ltd

Brainshare Technologies was incorporated to solve unquantifiable internet challenges facing teaming internet users in Nigeria.

The company said it is poised to bring in solution-packed initiatives into ICT Industry in Nigeria. Brainshare Technologies intends to achieve this initiative through creativity, state of art technology, commitment to excellence, excellence customer satisfaction and undiluted professionalism at all time.

Brainshare offers fibre internet services powered by the NINEXT and web hosting service powered by MYDOT.NG. According to NCC statistics, Brainshare Technologies has 788 connected subscribers. All the subscribers are active across its 6 Points of Presence.

19. IP Express Ltd

IP Express Limited is among the top 20 Internet Service providers in Nigeria. It specializes in network installation, support, and maintenance.

The company is committed to providing affordable high speed Internet connectivity using the best and the latest technology.

IP Express network engineers, designers, and installers are certified and licensed to install internet networks in small businesses, multi-family residences, companies and large institutions such as universities and hospitals.

The Unique Selling Points include Faster Speed, Cheaper Bandwidth Rates, More Data Bonus, Quick Survey & Installation Time, Personalized customer service and Free Trials (P.O.C). IP Express currently has 619 connected subscribers. The active subscribers are 583. It has 52 Points of Presence.

20. Dimension Data Limited

Founded in 1983 and headquartered in Johannesburg, At Dimension Data has grown its footprint across the Middle East and Africa. the company is a member of the NTT Ltd. Group, one of the world’s leading technology companies.

Dimension Data has made significant investments in major undersea cables – SEACOM, EASSy, APG, SJC, SMW5, EIG, LION, SAFE, ACE, SAT3, Indocom/KDN, and WACS – providing access to over 500Gbps of international high speed bandwidth. It is one of the largest aggregator of VSAT and last mile. It boasts of 78 points of presence (PoPs) across Middle East and Africa and 4 International PoPs. It has access to 500Gbs of undersea cables and 11000 m2 of data centre space.

Dimension Data empowers companies to expand their cloud and connectivity solutions in new markets through a full portfolio of advanced, end-to-end IT infrastructure services that offer a partnership with competitive, flexible pricing and reach.

According to statistics on NCC’s website, Dimension Data has 664 connected subscribers; 610 active subscribers and 15 Points of Presence.