NIGCOMSAT targets N8bn revenue in three years with broadband expansion

The Nigerian Communications Satellite Limited (NIGCOMSAT) has unveiled plans to generate N8 billion in revenue within the next three years by expanding broadband services across the country.

According to NAN, Jane Egerton-Idehen, managing director (MD) of NIGCOMSAT, spoke on Friday at a stakeholder roundtable held in Lagos.

Egerton-Idehen said broadband remains the company’s most profitable service, yet only 7 percent of its capacity is currently being utilised, leaving 93 percent of its broadband potential idle.

“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.

The NIGCOMSAT boss noted that despite Nigeria’s broadband penetration increasing from 35 percent in 2023 to 75 percent, the company’s broadband capacity remains largely untapped.

She called for deeper collaboration with the private sector to bridge the gap.

According to Egerton-Idehen, NIGCOMSAT has successfully demonstrated its capacity through projects such as providing internet services to naval ships, moving vessels, and local government secretariats in remote areas where terrestrial networks are unavailable.

Under Project 774, she said the company connected 45 local government secretariats across eight states in just two months — a feat fibre cable operators could not easily match in terms of speed.

NIGCOMSAT SEEKS PARTNERSHIPS FOR BROADBAND EXPANSION

Egerton-Idehen said NIGCOMSAT’s 250 staff members cannot cover the vast Nigerian market alone, making channel partners and resellers vital for expansion.

“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,” she said.

“However, by working with partners, we can reach schools, health centres, fintech companies and government agencies across Nigeria and even in West Africa.”

The MD pointed to successful state-owned enterprises such as Egypt’s NALSAT in the satellite sector and Nigeria LNG in the energy sector as proof that government companies can be both impactful and profitable.

“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,” Egerton-Idehen said.

The MD assured that the company would provide technical support, co-branded marketing and a flexible partnership model to enable partners to grow with the agency.