Glo, MTN Record Increased Data Penetration in Q1

Emma Okonji

Globacom and MTN have again, recorded an increase in data internet penetration in the telecommunications industry, compared with other operators that witnessed slight drop in the number of internet users on their networks.

In the report covering the first two months of year 2017, as recently released by the industry regulator, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Globacom recorded a total number of 27,021,200 internet users on its network in March, up from the 26,293,485 internet users it recorded in February.

MTN, which still maintained the highest number of internet users on its network, based on the highest number of telecoms subscribers on its network, which is put at 60,391,959, recorded 30,519 351 internet users in March, compared with 30,300,705 number of internet users it recorded in February.

Airtel, which recorded 19,468,684 number of internet users on its network in February, however slipped slightly to 19,423,760 in March this year.

Etisalat recorded 13,008,481 number of internet users in March as against 13,296,999 that it recorded in February.

On the whole, there was a general drop in the total number of internet users across networks, which is put at 89,972,792 in March compared with 89,998,873 that was recorded across all networks in February this year.

Aside the drop in data internet users, the number of telecoms subscribers and teledensity also dropped across networks in March this year, a situation, which telecoms experts have blamed on the decline in the purchasing power of telecoms subscribers, occasioned by the economic recession that the country is currently facing.