The active mobile subscriptions across the four recognized Global System for Mobile communications (GSM) networks domiciled in Nigeria, namely MTN, Globacom, Airtel, and 9mobile, reportedly rose to 199.5 million in March, 2022.
This is the highest number of subscriptions recorded by the GSM operators since January 2021.
According to the latest industry statistics released by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), the operators added a total of 1.4 million subscriptions in March, 2022 which bolstered their customer database from 198.1 million recorded in February this year.
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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 to 104.54% from 103.79% recorded in February, 2022.
According to the NCC, the tele-density is calculated based on a population estimate of 190 million.
By this astronomical rise, each of the telecom operators are entitled to the following statistics:
- The March statistics show that MTN, which is the largest operator by subscriber number, gained 243,879 new subscriptions in the said month. This brought its total active customer database to 75.2 million from 74.9 million in the previous month
- Globacom added 894, 565 new subscriptions in the month to retain its position as the second-largest operator. The telco’s active customer database rose to 55.8 million at the end of the said month from 54.9 in February.
- Airtel also gained new customers in the month under review, as its subscription database grew by 366,422. This brought its total subscriptions to 55.3 million from 55 million in February.
- However, 9Mobile recorded a loss of subscriptions in the month. The company’s database plunged by 71,992, resulting in a database of 12.7 million.
With a steady increase in mobile subscriptions across the networks since the beginning of this year, the operators are steadily regaining their lost customers after the government’s policy on Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) registration caused them to lose over 20 million subscriptions between December 2020 and April 2021.
The survey indicates the telecom space in Nigeria still booms amid the odds, thereby making the various operators domiciled in the country to smile at banks at the closure of business on a daily basis.
However, as these telecom operators apparently grin, they are expected to review the nature of services being rendered to their clients in a bid to make amends where need be.
They must work to address the various network hitches regularly faced by their teeming subscribers, hence making them waste their hard-earned money, especially when they make use of data.
Their charges ought to equally be reviewed towards carrying everyone along, irrespective of the economic status of the subscribers. The charges in voice calls and data activities require a critical consideration, so the clients would immensely benefit from the services they paid for.
In the aspect of security, the operators are expected to tighten their software architecture, to avert any form of illegal invasion into their system database. This can only be guaranteed by ensuring that only experts are engaged in their services.
The government, on its part, is also required to regularly strengthen its regulations to ensure the needful is done by the telecom operators as they carry out lawful obligations in the country.
The government should as well work to ensure multiple taxation is not experienced by the operators, knowing full well that such occurrence would surely be to the detriment of the subscribers in the long run.