The Nigerian Communications Satellite Limited (NIGCOMSAT) has unveiled an ambitious plan to generate N8 billion over the next three years by expanding its broadband service offerings.
This was disclosed by NIGCOMSAT’s Managing Director, Mrs. Jane Egerton-Idehen, during a stakeholder engagement session held on Friday in Lagos. According to her, broadband remains the most lucrative yet underutilised product in the company’s portfolio, with current usage at just 7 percent.
She revealed that approximately 93 percent of NIGCOMSAT’s broadband capacity remains dormant despite its applicability across various sectors, including education, healthcare, financial services, defence, and governance.
“We know broadband has greater value and wider use cases, from connecting local government offices to supporting education, defence, healthcare and even fintech. The challenge is that we cannot do it alone,” she said.
Egerton-Idehen noted that although Nigeria has made notable progress in broadband penetration—rising from 35 percent in 2023 to 75 percent—NIGCOMSAT’s capacity remains largely unexploited due to the lack of private sector collaboration.
Highlighting the agency’s capability, she referenced previous successful projects, such as providing internet services to naval ships, moving vessels, and remote local government offices under initiatives like Project 774. Within two months, the company connected 45 local government secretariats across eight states, a feat she said fibre operators could not achieve as swiftly.
She stressed the need for partnerships to widen market reach: “Our role is to provide the service backbone and support partners to take it to the market. We are not set up to compete directly with consumer operators because we don’t have engineers in every state to do installations and support. However, by working with partners, we can reach schools, health centres, fintech companies and government agencies across Nigeria and even in West Africa,” she said.
Egerton-Idehen further cited global examples like Egypt’s NALSAT and Nigeria LNG as proof that government-owned firms can be profitable and impactful. Comparing revenue targets, she said NALSAT earns around $150 million annually, while NIGCOMSAT’s N8 billion projection equals only $3–4 million.
“For example, NALSAT makes about 150 million dollars yearly. If we focus and work with the right partners, our N8 billion target, which is only about three to four million dollars, is not ambitious at all,” she said.
She assured stakeholders that NIGCOMSAT will provide technical support, co-branded marketing, and flexible partnership structures to drive mutual growth.
“This is the next chapter for NIGCOMSAT. We want to build it with you, our partners, because we cannot do it alone,” she added.
However, during breakout sessions, some participants observed that NIGCOMSAT products have struggled due to perceptions of the firm as a government agency rather than a competitive commercial entity. They warned that providers like Starlink had already captured significant market share and suggested that government policy should mandate federal agencies to prioritise NIGCOMSAT services over foreign alternatives.
