• Nigeria plans purchase of two new telecommunications satellites
• Tinubu approves project to replace ageing NigComSat-1R
• Satellites support digital agenda, broadband expansion, connectivity goals

Nigerian authorities are pressing ahead with plans to buy two new telecommunications satellites to strengthen the country’s digital infrastructure. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved the project, Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy Minister Bosun Tijani said, according to local media.

Tijani made the announcement on Wednesday, Jan. 28, in Abuja at a press conference held by the Nigeria Data Protection Commission to mark Global Data Privacy Day.

The two new satellites are expected to replace NigComSat-1R, Nigeria’s only communications satellite in operation since December 2011. NigComSat-1R was launched to succeed NigComSat-1, which was put into orbit on May 13, 2007, with Chinese support but failed shortly after launch.

Designed for a 15-year lifespan, NigComSat-1R was due to reach the end of its service life in 2026. However, the government announced in September 2025 that its operations would be extended until 2028.

The planned purchase fits into Nigeria’s broader digital transformation agenda, Tijani said. He noted that the country is also rolling out 90,000 kilometres of fibre-optic cable, a project that is currently 60% complete.

Digital technology is central to Tinubu’s strategy to grow Nigeria’s economy to $1 trillion. Satellites could help expand access to information and communication technologies in a country where the GSMA estimated that 120 million people were not connected to mobile internet at the end of 2023, out of a population of 223.8 million.

Nigeria first signalled its intention to acquire two new telecommunications satellites in 2016, putting the cost at about $500 million. At the time, the government said it was negotiating a loan with the Export-Import Bank of China, following a financing approach similar to the one used for the first satellite.

However, Jane Nkechi Egerton-Idehen, managing director of Nigerian Communications Satellite Limited (NigComSat), said in a September 2025 interview with TechCabal that this is no longer the only option. She said the process is now open, and several suppliers and investors have submitted bids.

Beyond financing, Egerton-Idehen said Nigeria is also seeking to safeguard its orbital slots, which are reserved positions allocated to countries for satellite deployment. NigComSat-1R currently occupies one of the three slots assigned to Nigeria by the International Telecommunication Union.

Isaac K. Kassouwi