Nigeria’s Internet Subscribers Hit 156m

Telecommunication companies  (telcos)  in  Africa’s  big-gest economy reported a total of 156  million  active  subscribers  to  data  services  in  February,  despite  Starlink  traction  in  Nigeria,  the  latest  data  from  the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has shown.

MTN accounted for the majority of the increase, with 66.7 million active internet subscribers in the month un-der review.  Globacom  came  in  second  with  43.4  million,  followed by Airtel and Etisalat with  41.9  million  and  4.3  million, respectively.

The  increase  indicates  that consumers are spending more  on  data  and  companies are driving productivity through  maximum  usage  of  broadband  penetration,”  Ajibola  Olude,  executive  secretary of the association of telecommunication companies of Nigeria (ATCON) said.

“When  internet  services  providers  expand  their  coverage  areas  and  offer  more  affordable plans, more people can  access  the  internet  and  become subscribers.”

According to  him,  the  in-crease  also  shows  that  the  internet of things and robotics  have  started  gaining  momentum  in  the  Nigerian  digital  space because all this innovation requires SIMs to perform various functions.

Further  analysis  of  the  industry data shows that active mobile  telephony  service  in  February  rose  to  227  million,  With  the  growth  recorded  by  the  operators,  the  country’s  tele-density,  which  measures  the number of active telephone connections  per  100  inhabitants living within an area, also jumped  from  118  percent  in  January to 119 percent in February 2023. 

density is calculated based on a population estimate of 190 million.

A report on the mobile economy  2023  states  that  Mobile  connectivity  will  continue  to  be a lifeline for society, helping the most vulnerable people in areas  affected  by  conflict  and  natural  disasters  to  stay  connected.“

At the end of 2022, over 5.4 billion  people  globally  sub-scribed  to  a  mobile  service,  including  4.4  billion  people  who  used the mobile internet.”

The  Global  System  for  Mobile  Communications  report  disclosed  that  In  2022,  mobile  technologies and services generated 5 percent of global GDP, a contribution that amounted to  $5.2  trillion  of  economic  value added, and supported 28 million jobs across the wider mobile ecosystem.

In  Nigeria,  the  percentage  contributed  to  the  Gross  Domestic Product (GDP) of Nigeria by the telecommunications industry grew by 13.55 percent in  the  fourth  quarter  of  2022,  the NCC data shows.

However, the telecommunication and information sector reported highest growth rate compared to other ICT sectors in the economy in 2022.