Telecom operators in Nigeria lost 6.1 of mobile subscribers between January and June 2023, according to the Nigerian Communications Commission’s (NCC) latest industry statistics.
According to the NCC’s figures, the telcos had a subscriber base of 225,880,193 in January 2023.
Daily Independent reported that in the month of February, there was a slight increase of 226,835,732. But in the month of March, the number of subscribers dropped to 225,821,293, indicating a decline of 1,015,439 subscribers at the period.
In April, the four service providers recorded a subscriber base of 223,338,215 after losing 2,483,078 subscribers.
There was a repeat of the negative record in the month of May which had a total subscription of 220,931,688 after 2,406,527 subscribers dropped off the base. In the month of June, a further decline of 1,165,344. This brought the number of the month of June to 219,766,344.
According to the NCC’s figures, MTN, the largest operator by subscriber count, was a major factor in the drop seen during the six months (January – June), as it suffered a massive loss of 7,286,654 subscribers.
The reduction in MTN’s active subscriptions is attributable to the disconnection of SIMs that have not been linked with the National Identification Number (NIN) as mandated by the government.
The development resulted in the decline of subscriptions for mobile services in the country from 225,880,193 recorded in January, 2023 to 219,766,344 subscribers in the month of June.
Despite MTN’s huge loss, other telcos – Glo, Airtel and 9mobile – recorded marginal increase in their respective subscriptions base in the months under review.
Between January and June, Glo added 998,994 customers on its network. In the same vein, Air-tel lost 373,035 subscribers, while 9mobile gained 446,846 which is the highest number of subscribers in the period under review.
There are palpable fears that the service providers may lose more subscribers if the Federal Government, through the industry regulator, relevant agencies and institutions like banks come up with policies that will demand Subscriber Identification Module (SIM) updates and verifications.
