Following the statement released by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) on Monday that the sector contributed 12.45 percent to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2020, analysts have noted that growth in internet subscribers was principally responsible for the contribution. Indeed, Globacom’s increase in internet subscription by 39 percent, which was above the industry growth rate of 22 percent for 2020, was significantly responsible for the sectorial performance.
According to NCC’s telecommunications industry performance reports for 2020, the sector added over 28 million new internet users, taking the total number of Nigeria’s internet subscribers to 153,873,786 from 125,728,328 at the end of December 2019.
Specifically, Globacom recorded the highest growth among the operators, moving from 28,934,439 data users at the end of 2019 to 40,106,659 by the end of 2020, which was an addition of 11,172,220 users or 39 percent growth. Glo was followed by MTN which grew by 21 percent, and Airtel which recorded a 20 percent increase. Conversely, 9mobile recorded a 12 percent decline in data users during the same period.
This latest update from NCC is consistent with the report released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) last month. The bureau had noted that Globacom led the growth in Nigeria’s telecommunications industry in the third quarter of 2020.
Globacom’s remarkable performance in the sector is believed to be as a result of the continuous network upgrade, which enhances data service delivery to its subscribers. It also offers subscribers attractive data packages with unmatched value.
Glo data services are powered by the huge capacity international submarine cable called Glo1, a wholly- owned facility that brought unprecedented bandwidth from Europe to Nigeria and other West African countries.
