In its recently released Global System for Mobile Communications Association (GSMA) report, the agency noted that data costs in Nigeria were one of the lowest in Africa and the world generally.

According to the report titled “The Role of Mobile Technology in Driving Digital Economy in Nigeria”, Nigeria offered cost-effective connectivity services to data users nationwide with an average data cost of $0.38 for a gigabyte.

The cost in Nigeria is a per cent of GNI (per capita. Its basic data-only package is the lowest in West Africa and well below the average across Africa,” ITU added.

Furthermore, it said data costs were lower in Nigeria averaging $0.59 per gigabyte when compared to other African countries such as Kenya, Ethiopia and South Africa. ITU said Ethiopia had an average of $0.68 per gigabyte and South Africa $1.77 per gigabyte. The agency said data rates in the United States of America averaged $6 a gigabyte.