The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has signaled a major strategic shift in its approach to digital inclusion, acknowledging that traditional ground-based telecommunications infrastructure is no longer sufficient to connect the country’s remaining 23 million offline citizens.
In a move that recognizes the severe economic and security limitations of expanding fibre optics and mobile towers into remote areas, the regulator announced on Wednesday that it will now deploy the Universal Service Provision Fund (USPF) to subsidize satellite broadband operators.
The disclosure was made during the virtual presentation of the Q4 2025 Industry Performance Report. Senior NCC officials admitted that while 4G and 5G networks are expanding in urban centers, the physics of spectrum and high rollout costs have made terrestrial expansion into the hinterlands commercially unviable.
For decades, Nigeria has relied heavily on the expansion of Base Transceiver Stations (BTS) to drive coverage.
However, the NCC noted that the mid-band frequencies required for modern 5G networks have smaller coverage footprints, requiring a density of infrastructure that is financially impossible to replicate in sparsely populated rural communities.
The Commission highlighted that physical infrastructure in these areas is increasingly vulnerable.
Despite the recent Presidential order designating telecom assets as Critical National Information Infrastructure (CNII), insecurity, vandalism, and fibre cuts continue to plague ground-level operations.
To bypass these hurdles, the NCC is turning to Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite systems, which beam internet from space and are immune to the physical vandalism and terrain challenges that hamper terrestrial networks.
The Commission stated that the USPF—a statutory fund designed to promote universal access will now offer incentives specifically for satellite operators.
However, the regulator attached a strict caveat: these subsidies are for unserved and underserved regions only, not for operators looking to compete in lucrative urban markets.
“We encourage satellite operators to focus on areas where market forces alone cannot deliver affordable services,” the Commission stated.
This policy shift aligns with the recent issuance of a landing permit to Amazon’s Project Kuiper and ongoing consultations regarding Direct-to-Device (D2D) technology.
D2D is viewed as a potential game-changer, as it would allow everyday mobile phones to connect directly to satellites without the need for any ground infrastructure or towers in the vicinity.
While embracing satellite tech, the NCC noted it is currently working on frameworks to prevent market distortion.
The regulator is assessing how to integrate these international satellite giants without stifling local competition, while ensuring they prioritize the 23 million Nigerians currently shut out of the digital economy.
The Commission expressed optimism that a hybrid approach combining low-band spectrum refarming for ground networks with a robust, subsidized satellite strategy will finally close the country’s connectivity gap as data consumption is projected to triple by 2030.