Access to the internet is now a necessity. It improves access to education, healthcare, financial services, and job opportunities. This milestone in Kura is a powerful example of how rural connectivity can directly transform lives—and why it’s urgently needed across Nigeria.
For the first time, the 12,000 residents of Kura, a rural community on the outskirts of Abuja, have access to mobile network and internet services, Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr Bosun Tijani, announced on May 29. This development is thanks to a landmark partnership between a rural connectivity initiative, Huawei, and telecom provider Glo.
The new telecom tower was deployed in just two days. Within 48 hours of going live, Kura residents consumed 81.4GB of data and logged 13,144 minutes of voice calls. The site has maintained 100% uptime, with peak LTE download speeds reaching 5.0 Mbps, the minister revealed.
Beyond personal connectivity, the project also supports vital community infrastructure. The local health centre is now linked to global doctors via Huawei’s telemedicine solutions, enabling remote diagnostics and consultations. Meanwhile, the school in Kura is equipped with digital classroom technology, providing students with access to high-quality online learning resources and global educational content for the first time.
A free public WiFi zone has also been launched, ensuring that the entire community, not just those with mobile devices, can benefit from the new digital access.
This pilot is a blueprint for future deployments across Nigeria’s underserved regions. As the project scales, millions more Nigerians could soon experience the transformative power of digital inclusion, from better education and healthcare to economic opportunities and beyond.
Over 20 million Nigerians still live without internet access, according to the Minister. To close this digital gap, the Federal Government has launched a major initiative to deploy 7,000 new telecommunications towers across underserved communities, aiming to connect those who remain entirely cut off from mobile and internet services.
Hikmatu Bilali
