Mobile GSM Technology Leads in Internet Penetration, as Fewer Subscribers Patronise ISPs, VoIP

Emma Okonji

The latest industry statistics released by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), has revealedthat more subscribers patronised the services offered by GSM operators like MTN, Airtel, Globacom and 9mobile, including ntel, for their internet connectivity, via their mobile devices such as snartphones and tablets. 

According to the statistics, which THISDAY obtained from the official website of NCC, the active internet subscriptions by technology, from January 2024 to October 2024, revealed that internet subscriptions via the mobile GSM technology, led other technologies, through which Nigerians also connect to the internet. The other technologies include the Wired and Wireless technologies offered by licensed Internet Service Providers (ISPs), Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technology and the Fixed Wired technology.    

From the statistics, as at October 2024, the total number of active internet subscriptions across all connecting technologies in Nigeria, was put at 134,787,935, while the number of those connected to the internet via mobile GSM technology alone, using smartphones and tablets, was put at 134,279,501, followed by Wired and Wireless technologies, offered by ISPs, which was put at 285,702. The VoIP technology for internet connectivity was next, with a total number 212,071 internet subscription, as at October 2024. The least of the technologies is the Fixed Wired technology, which has 10, 661 internet subscriptions as at October 2024. 

Another technology that was initially used for internet connectivity in the past was the Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) technology, which became obsolete in Nigeria, immediately after Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM) technology was introduced in 2001. 

From January 2024 to October 2024, the mobile GSM technology maintained its leading position in internet connectivity and penetration in Nigeria. According to NCC’s statistics, the total number of active internet subscriptions in Nigeria via mobile GSM technology as at January 2024, was 161,504,390, and the figure increased to 162,808,826 in February 2024, with another increase to 163,895,185 and 164,023,607 in March and April 2024 respectively. The figure however dropped in May, June, July and August, to 136,561,704; 135,942,275; 134,435,733; and 130,946,321 respectively. The internet penetration figure however picked up again in September 2024 to reach 132,406,212, with a further increase to 134,279,501 in October 2024. 

As at January, February and March 2024, the total number of active internet subscriptions in Nigeria via the Wired and Wireless technologies, offered by ISPs, maintained the same figure of 213,876, and the figure increased in April 2024 to 262,206, with a further increase in May to 285,702, and maintained same figure in June, July, August, September and October 2024. 

VoIP internet connectivity was 238,180, as at January 2024, but the figure dropped in February 2024 to 236,212, before increasing again to 238,139 in March, with a further increase in April and May 2024 to 248,504 and 265,183 respectively. The figure however dropped in June 2024 to 262,126, with a further drop in July and August 2024 to 259,734 and 199,960respectively. The internet penetration figure however increased in September and October 2024 to 205,634 and 212,071 respectively. 

As at January 2024, internet penetration via Fixed Wired technology was 21,437, but the internet penetration figure dropped in February same year to 20,627, before it increased in March same year to 21,092, with a further increase in April to 21,459. In May same year, there was a sharp decline in the number of connected subscribers to the internet via the Fixed Wired technology to 6.921, with a slight increase in June, July and August  2024 to 7,281; 8,060, and 8,680. It however increased again to 9,453 in September and to 10,661 in October 2024.  

Speaking about dominance of mobile GSM technology in internet penetration, the Chairman, Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), Gbenga Adebayo, said although ISPs were initially licensed as core internet service providers, the GSM operators, with better technology in terms of speed and cost of deployment, were also registered to offer mobile internet service. He further said because the GSM technology is faster and cheaper to deploy, and based on the large coverage areas, the GSM operators were able to deploy internet service much faster and cheaper that the ISPs. 

“It’s about technology evolution. The GSM technology is more advanced and easy to deploy than the Wired and Wireless technologies and the Fixed Wired technology, and that is the advantage that GSM operators have over ISPs,” Adebayo further said