MTN Nigeria leads other GSM operators as subscriber base hits 83m

MTN Nigeria has maintained its leadership position among GSM operators in the country with active subscribers for telephony services of 83,331,682 as of October 2020, representing 40.14% of the entire operators’ subscriber base.

According to the report released by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) MTN is followed by Airtel with 56,214,072 telephony subscribers (27.08%), Globacom 55,079,362 (26.53%), and 9Mobile with 12,953,121 subscribers (6.24%).

The telephony subscribers recorded a 1.3% month-on-month growth, from 204,869,652 recorded in September 2020 to 207,578,237 as of October 2020; as well as 15.3% year-on-year growth from 180,000,075 in the corresponding period in 2019 (October 2019).

The internet subscribers recorded a 0.9% month-on-month growth from 151,063,413 recorded in September 2020 to 152,481,376 as of October 2020; as well as 23.8% year-on-year growth from 123,123,676 in the corresponding period in 2019 (October 2019).

In telephony subscription and as of October 2020, MTN recorded 0.8% month-on-month growth as well as 26.5% year-on-year; whereas in internet subscription, it grew by 1.0% month-on-month and 24.6% year-on-year.

Similarly, Airtel recorded 1.7% month-on-month growth as well as14.5% year-on-year on telephony subscription; whereas in internet subscription, it grew by 1.1% month-on-month and 21.2% year-on-year.

Globacom recorded 1.5% month-on-month growth as well as 9.6% year-on-year on telephony subscriptions; whereas in internet subscriptions, it grew by 0.8% month-on-month and 36% year-on-year.

9Mobile recorded 1.8% month-on-month growth but dipped by 12.4% year-on-year on telephony subscription; whereas in internet subscription, it grew by 0.3% month-on-month and dipped 12.6% year-on-year.

In October 2020, only 73.5% of the operators’ subscribers on telephony services subscribed to internet services; 73.7% in September 2020 and 68.4% in October 2019.

According to the report by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the information and communication sector contributed 9.57% to the overall Gross Domestic Products (GDP) in the country’s third-quarter in 2020.

No doubt, the telecom sector has remained resilient amid the COVID-19 pandemic given the surge in the demand for data usage and increase in total mobile subscribers.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, several organizations have adjusted to remote workspace/digital workspace – a new way of life in the office space that is expected to increase data services, and further enhances growth in the sector in the short to medium term.