The Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, has said that steps are being taken to make available cheaper smartphones in the Nigerian market.
The Executive Vice Chairman of the NCC, Dr Aminu Maida, stated this during a media parley with journalist in Abuja on Friday.
DAILY POST reports that phone prices in Nigeria have reached all-time highs in 2026 due to extreme currency depreciation and inflation, making even budget devices expensive. Entry-level smartphones now often start over N100k, while mid-range devices like the Infinix Hot 60 Pro and Techno Spark 40 Pro range from N150,000 to over N250,000. High-end devices can exceed N1,000,000+.
The current phone market highlights in Nigeria in 2026 show that the budget segment cost between N100k – N200k. Devices such as the Redmi 15C N176,999, and Samsung Galaxy A07, N168,869 dominate this space.
The mid-range segment, cost between N200k – N400k with phone such as the Infinix Hot 60 Pro N240,400, and Tecno Spark 40 Pro Plus, approx. N283,800) offer higher specifications.
High-End, phones in the range of N500, 000 and more such as the Tecno Phantom X5 Pro which cost over N550,000, while new Samsung Galaxy Z Fold/Flip series exceed N1.6 million.
Used Devices: “UK Used” options like the iPhone 11 Pro Max are frequently sought at lower prices, around N495,000.
Factors driving high costs of phones, according to experts include, foreign exchange rate, import duties and inflation
“We are looking at how cheaper smart phones can be introduced into into the market,” the EVC said.
“But despite this, if you look at the figures, increasingly we are seeing more users moving to 4G. Users are moving away from 3G, 2G devices.
“So this, on its own, is also showing that that move towards smartphone usage is happening, because I think now over about 52% of users are 4G users.”
Speaking earlier in his opening remark, the EVC noted that the media reportage of the telecommunications sector has been so helpful for the Commission.
According to him, this has helped the sector “to implement our policies, keep the general public up to date in terms of progress, and also, most importantly, for me, to hold us accountable.”
“Our philosophy is that of transparency. You’ve seen that through the tariff simplification directive we gave which we are currently, it’s not 100% compliance, because there’s a little bit of technical details behind getting the compliance.
“We also have the major outage Reporting Portal for which a lot of you have reported and highlighted, and, you know, drawn the attention of even senior government stakeholders to some of the issues which the industry is facing, particularly fiber cuts that sometimes, despite our efforts, we need your help in terms of bringing that awareness to the general public so we thank you for that.”
The EVC also mentioned the Corporate Governance guidelines, which the Commission gave a 24 month compliance deadline that is ongoing in the 24 months and expires next year, end of quarter one; the settlement of the USSD debt and other general issues regarding the sustainability of the industry.
Maida, among other things, also mentioned that the Commission’s collaboration with the Office of the National Security Advisor towards operationalizing the critical national infrastructure has been very we’re beginning to yield fruit.
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