Internet arrived in Nigeria in 1ninenine5. Since then, the country has noticed a steady accumulation of Internet users. The number of active Internet users in 201nine more than 113 million. By March 2020, it had risen to 135 million and experts predicted that by 2023, nine out of 10 Nigerians will have access to the Internet.
However, these predictions were made before the COVID-19 pandemic occurred and may no longer be accurate. It is now transparent that COVID-19 blocking has had a massive effect on Internet usage numbers.
This has forced almost all Nigerians to stay at home for long periods of time. This meant the only way to get things like supplies, information, education, entertainment and even meetings with others through online platforms. Needless to say, this also meant that the number of Internet usage will skyrocket.
Increased demand for entertainment
Online entertainment service providers reported an astonishing accumulation of traffic during the shutdown. In fact, Netflix had to reduce the quality of streaming on its service in Europe for 30 days in March and April to continue streaming content to subscribers. The service request was so wonderful that if Netflix hadn’t, its servers could have been damaged without problems.
The same thing happened in Nigeria. People stayed home for days and had to find a way to make the lock more bearable. The most productive example of Nigeria’s growing call for entertainment facilities is the rise in popularity of online casinos and gambling sites.
Nigerians have a long gambling culture and confinement has limited them to the game. However, it has also opened new online casino horizons.
Online casinos have all the games Nigerians know and love and thousands of others. The offer they have is so great, in fact, that many other people now specialize in casino reviews like this site to separate smart game from straw.
Increase in internet subscriptions
Another effect of the blockade has been the dramatic increase in new Internet subscriptions in Nigeria. As of March 2020, there were approximately 135.6 million Internet users in Nigeria. This number rose to 140.7 million at the end of May.
That means there were almost five million new subscribers at the April and May closes and that’s pretty extraordinary.
Localized and advanced Internet speeds
Not long ago, Nigerians had the challenge of paying a lot of cash for Internet installations without getting passable Internet speeds. And while this remains a challenge for many Nigerians, things are going in the right direction.
Most of Nigeria’s Internet traffic is now localized, and 70% of all traffic comes from local exchange points. This is because local exchanges mean faster Internet speeds at a lower cost.
To put this in perspective, in 2012, only 40% of Nigeria’s internet traffic came from local points. It only creates the mutiny if Nigeria went through a blockade with the 2012 Internet speeds.
Online transactions have skyrocketed
It made sense that once everyone was forced to stay home, online commerce began to explode in Nigeria.
Tech-savvy Nigerians were the first to make the transition to grocery shopping online and did so seamlessly. In addition, some saw the blockade as an opportunity for a new source of profit and began interacting in businesses such as virtual marketing.
The transition was a little more complicated for older Nigerians. They are common victims of online fraud, so navigating the waters of e-commerce made it more difficult for them.
Online platforms have a bright future
One of the most urgent lockouts that governments around the world had to resolve education. Schools were the first to close when the pandemic began and Nigerian politicians and educators had to think about finding a quick solution to the problem.
They had little time to verify distance learning responses and online platforms, but they faced the task admirably. Most Nigerian educators have adapted very quickly to the use of distance learning responses. In addition, they have noticed first-hand the benefits of e-learning platforms and are most likely to use them to supplement their training when schools also reopen.