Evaluation of The Effect of Supply Side Factors on Broadband Penetration in Nigeria

Abstract          

The study evaluated the effect of supply side factors on broadband penetration in Nigeria. The study analyzed the collective effect of supply side factors and the individual effect of supply side factors on broadband penetration in Nigeria. Two research questions were answered and two hypotheses tested. The population of the study consisted of 215experts from the major communication companies in the South East of Nigeria. The data used for this study were the socio-economic determinants (X1), market competition (X2), availability of existing network (X3), government support for network building (X4), population density/demographic factors (X5), and broadband penetration (Y). Data collected were subjected to multiple regression analysis on the basis which a relationship model was estimated using mainly primary data source. On the basis of the multiple regression output, a relationship model was estimated. The result of the multiple regression analysis revealed that at a significance level of 0.05, all the five supply side factors (X1, X2, X3, X4, and X5) are as a whole and/or individually has significant effect on broadband penetration. It was concluded that all the five supply side factors contribute significantly in predicting broadband penetration by explaining broadband penetration by 51.4%. It was recommended among others that there should be streamlined procedures to develop an enabling environment that promote investment and facilitate market entry in order to stimulate competition and innovation among broadband market players