BROADBAND INFRASTRUCTURE AND DIGITAL INCLUSION GAPS IN NORTHWESTERN NIGERIA: A COMPARATIVE EVALUATIVE ANALYSIS OF KANO, KADUNA AND KATSINA STATES, 2020–2026

Broadband connectivity is broadly acknowledged as a cornerstone of digital and economic inclusion, yet its deployment throughout Nigeria continues to be markedly uneven, both between urban and rural areas and across regions. As of May 2025, Nigeria’s broadband penetration rate stands at 45.57 per cent, falling short of the National Broadband Plan’s target of 70 per cent by 2025. Urban centres like Lagos and Abuja enjoy decent fibre and 4G coverage, while many rural areas still rely on outdated 2G or remain completely unconnected. Despite a tech-savvy population and a booming fintech sector, the country’s digital infrastructure has not kept pace with its innovation potential. This study examines the development of broadband infrastructure and the gaps in digital inclusion across three states in Northwestern Nigeria, Kano, Kaduna and Katsina from 2020 to 2026, set against Nigeria's National Broadband Plan (2020-2025), which aimed for 70% national penetration by the close of 2025. Using subscriber data from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), state-level digital public infrastructure (DPI) readiness ratings, and peer-reviewed spatial analyses of internet-use concentration, the study shows that national broadband penetration climbed from 39.85% in March 2020 to 48.81% by August 2025 far below the 70% target, with a persistent urban-rural divide of 57% versus 23% as reported by the NCC in 2025. Among the three focus states, Kano and Kaduna are identified in earlier spatial analyses as long-standing high-concentration internet-use region and are presently rated at 'medium' digital public infrastructure maturity, whereas Katsina is rated 'low' in overall maturity, despite posting Nigeria's fastest mobile-internet subscriber growth in 2020 and later obtaining an $8 million World Bank SABER credit for ICT-driven reform, along with a 2030 goal of 70% broadband penetration and 2,000km of new fibre infrastructure. The comparative assessment indicates that Katsina's recent state-level policy commitments amount to a deliberate effort to close a historical infrastructure gap relative to Kano and Kaduna, even as all three states continue to be held back by the same structural obstacles documented nationwide: high Right of Way charges, rural affordability constraints, and sluggish fibre deployment beyond urban centres. The paper calls for coordinated state-federal investment in line with the National Broadband Alliance pilot programme, targeted subsidies for rural connectivity, and ongoing tracking of state-level DPI maturity to complement national broadband statistics.