{"id":5291,"date":"2026-10-15T21:09:23","date_gmt":"2026-10-15T21:09:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/?p=5291"},"modified":"2026-10-15T21:50:40","modified_gmt":"2026-10-15T21:50:40","slug":"rea-ncc-to-expand-rural-connectivity-cut-costs-for-telecoms-consumers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/?p=5291","title":{"rendered":"NCC, REA to expand rural connectivity, cut costs for telecoms consumers"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>*<em><strong>The<\/strong><\/em> <strong><em>Nigerian Communications Commission<\/em><\/strong><strong><em>&nbsp; and Rural Electrification Agency sign a Memorandum of Understanding to integrate renewable energy solutions with rural telecoms infrastructure across the country <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Gbenga Kayode | ConsumerConnect<\/p>\n<p>In a strategic move to substantially reduce costs of telecoms services for consumers, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and Rural Electrification Agency (REA) are planning joint pilot projects to integrate rural electricity infrastructure with telecoms networks.<\/p>\n<p>The telecoms initiative is aimed at improving power supply to rural telecoms base stations, reduce diesel consumption, and extend digital services to underserved communities in Nigeria.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"hODWrugy20\"><p><a href=\"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/?p=5304\">Data Privacy: Smart TVs aren\u2019t spying on consumers &#8212; LG<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" style=\"position: absolute; visibility: hidden;\" title=\"\u201cData Privacy: Smart TVs aren\u2019t spying on consumers \u2014 LG\u201d \u2014 Consumer Experience Is A Top Priority\" src=\"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/?p=5304&amp;embed=true#?secret=WG5S3Ou5gG#?secret=hODWrugy20\" data-secret=\"hODWrugy20\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><em>ConsumerConnect<\/em> reports Abba Aliyu, Managing Director of REA, noted this development Tuesday, October 13, 2026, at the Rural Connect 2.0 Summit, in Lagos.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Renewable energy solutions for telecoms infrastructure <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Earlier, the Nigerian Communications Commission and the Rural Electrification Agency July&nbsp; 2026, had forged a partnership to deploy renewable energy solutions for telecommunications infrastructure in rural and underserved communities.<\/p>\n<p>The agreement is considered as a move expected to lower network operators\u2019 energy costs while improving network availability in underserved communities.<\/p>\n<p>Aliyu affirmed the two government regulatory agencies had established a joint committee to identify locations where rural mini-grids could supply electricity to mobile network operators\u2019 base stations across the West African country.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Core objective of MoU between NCC, REA<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The REA Chief Executive also acknowledged both REA and NCC signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), July this year, to strengthen collaboration on rural electricity and telecoms infrastructure.<\/p>\n<p>Aliyu further explained the three subcommittees have assessed business models, funding options, technical standards, and capacity-building requirements for activation of the initiative.<\/p>\n<p>He stated: \u201cThe next phase would involve joint physical audits of shortlisted sites, engagement with telecoms operators and mini-grid developers, and validation of the proposed business models using operational data.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>According to him, Nigeria\u2019s household electrification rate stood at about 60 percent, while over 11,000 rural base stations relied on power sources that contributed to significant diesel consumption.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Impact of electrification rate on last-minute connectivity <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The Managing Director of REA also explained: \u201cThe telecom sector was estimated to consume more than 40 million litres of diesel annually to power many rural base stations.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>He said integrating telecommunications infrastructure with renewable energy systems could reduce operating costs while improving electricity reliability and digital access in rural communities.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Expansion of electricity access via mini-grids solar home systems &nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The REA, he said, was implementing programmes to expand electricity access through mini-grids and solar home systems.<\/p>\n<p>Aliyu as well disclosed the Nigeria Electrification Project has supported 380 grant agreements with developers, resulting in over 150 commissioned hybrid solar mini-grids and approximately 1.45 million deployed solar home systems in the country.<\/p>\n<p>He highlighted the agency\u2019s $750 million Distributed Access through Renewable Energy Scale-up programme, which he noted targets 1,350 mini-grids, including 250 interconnected systems.<\/p>\n<p>The programme is expected to provide new electricity access to approximately 17.5 million Nigerians.<\/p>\n<p>The Chief Executive of REA said the National Electricity Strategy and Implementation Plan targeted universal electricity access by 2030, and this requires estimated $23 billion investment to connect 22 million Nigerian households.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Rural connectivity, actual usage and community benefits, by ATCON &nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Speaking at the forum also, Tony Emoekpere, President of the Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON), urged industry stakeholders to measure rural connectivity by actual usage and community benefits, not network coverage alone. Emoekpere said connecting schools, primary healthcare centres, local governments and agricultural cooperatives to shared networks could create a more sustainable revenue base for rural telecommunications infrastructure.<\/p>\n<p>He also urged participants to incorporate connectivity planning into mini-grid projects from inception.<\/p>\n<p>According to him, shared infrastructure could reduce costs and expand access to electricity and digital services.<\/p>\n<p>The President of ATCON urged greater support for local Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and community-based operators.<\/p>\n<p>They are better positioned to understand and address underserved populations\u2019 needs, stated he.<\/p>\n<p>Emoekpere remarked government and development partners must support rural connectivity because private investment alone might not adequately serve communities offering limited commercial returns.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Telecoms infrastructure requires steady power supply, says Engr. Oshadami, ESTS of NCC<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>It is equally recalled that at the time NCC and REA forged renewable energy pact to cut telecom costs and expand connectivity July this year, Engr. Abraham Oshadami, Executive Commissioner for Technical Services (ECTS) at the Commission, at the signing of an MoU, in Abuja, FCT, said the event would enable telecoms base stations located near mini-grids to access cleaner and more affordable electricity, thereby reducing their reliance on diesel-powered generators.<\/p>\n<p>Oshadami noted the agreement came at the right time when telecoms operators are facing increasing operational costs due to increased spending on diesel to power network sites amid unreliable electricity supply from the national grid.<\/p>\n<p>The Commission also disclosed its partnership with REA reflects the growing relationship between the power and telecoms sectors, as both rely on each other to deliver essential services.<\/p>\n<p>Oshadami explained that while telecoms infrastructure requires a steady power supply to remain operational, digital connectivity also supports electricity services, such as smart metering, electronic payments and remote customer management.<\/p>\n<p>The collaboration, the NCC Executive Commissioner for Technical Services stated, is aimed at improving access to reliable electricity and telecommunications services, particularly in remote communities where inadequate power supply has slowed digital inclusion.<\/p>\n<p>According to him, both agencies had identified telecom base stations located within one to two kilometres of existing mini-grids, allowing the implementation of the initiative to begin immediately.<\/p>\n<p>Oshadami said: \u201cWhere mini-grids exist, we are able to identify nearby base stations and connect them to those power sources.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>In terms of the inherent benefits of the joint initiative, the ECTS hinted that future mini-grid projects would be planned with telecoms infrastructure in mind, ensuring that electricity investments also support the expansion of digital services.<\/p>\n<p>The transition to renewable energy, he noted, will improve the reliability of telecoms services, especially in communities without access to the national electricity grid.<\/p>\n<p>Oshadami<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe whole globe is now more or less a village. It is only possible because of connectivity,&#8221; stated he.<\/p>\n<p>The ECTS of the telecoms sector regulatory Commission said the move would improve connectivity to support economic activities and social development across the country.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>*The Nigerian Communications Commission&nbsp; and Rural Electrification Agency sign a Memorandum of Understanding to integrate renewable energy solutions with rural telecoms infrastructure across the country&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5294,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_FSMCFIC_featured_image_caption":"Photo Collage of NCC and REA Logos           Credit: Daily Trust ","_FSMCFIC_featured_image_nocaption":"","_FSMCFIC_featured_image_hide":"","_customify_content_layout":"","_customify_sidebar":"","_customify_page_header_display":"default","_customify_disable_header":"","_customify_disable_header_top":"","_customify_disable_header_main":"","_customify_disable_header_bottom":"","_customify_disable_page_title":"","_customify_disable_content_vertical_padding":"","_customify_disable_footer_top":"","_customify_disable_footer_main":"","_customify_disable_footer_bottom":"","_customify_breadcrumb_display":"","_customify_header_transparent_display":"default","footnotes":""},"categories":[20,3,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5291","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-highlights","category-infoeducation","category-markets"],"featured_image_urls":{"full":["https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/images-2.jpg",502,265,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/images-2-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/images-2-300x158.jpg",300,158,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/images-2.jpg",502,265,false],"large":["https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/images-2.jpg",502,265,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/images-2.jpg",502,265,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/images-2.jpg",502,265,false]},"author_info":{"info":["ConsumerConnect"]},"category_info":"<a href=\"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/?cat=20\" rel=\"category\">Highlights<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/?cat=3\" rel=\"category\">InfoEducation<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/?cat=4\" rel=\"category\">Markets<\/a>","tag_info":"Markets","comment_count":"1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5291","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5291"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5291\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5322,"href":"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5291\/revisions\/5322"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5294"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5291"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5291"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5291"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}