After Sliding to 154m, Telecoms Subscriptions Grew to 169m with 78.1% Teledensity in January

Emma Okonji

The recent statistics released by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), showed an improvement in the growth of telecoms subscriptions, which reached 169, 318,076, with a teledensity of 78.1 per cent as at January this year.

Although telecoms subscriptions had surpassed the 200 million mark to reach 224,713,710 with a teledensity of 103.66 per cent in December 2023, which was its peak period ever in the history of telecommunications in Nigeria, the figure however started dropping until it reached as low as 154,904,827 in September 2024.

The sharp drop has been attributed to several factors, prominent among them, were the deactivation of over 42 million SIM cards in five days in February 2024, and the rebasing of the telecoms sector in September 2024.

NCC had in February, March and April 2024, carried out phased disconnections of SIM cards that were not properly registered and not linked to the National Identification Number (NIN) of the SIM card holders.

In September 2024, during the rebasing of the telecoms sector, NCC also disconnected 40 million subscribers from a single network operator that erroneously increased its subscriber base.

These factors, among others, no doubt, contributed to the sharp decline of telecoms subscriptions in 2024, but the recent statistics from NCC, showed a remarkable improvement and growth in telecoms subscriptions number that has risen to 169 million as at January this year.

According to the statistics, as at December 2023, telecoms subscriptions reached 224,713,710, with a teledensity of 103.66 per cent. The subscriptions however dropped to 218,400,965 with a teledensity of 100.75 per cent in January 2024, with a slight increase in February 2024 to 219,970,313 with a teledensity of 101.47 per cent.

The subscriptions however dropped again to 219,301,281 with a teledensity of 101.16 per cent in March 2024, with a further drop to 216,974,742 with a teledensity of 100.09 per cent and 172,141,538 with a teledensity of 79.41 per cent in April and May 2024 respectively.

In June 2024, there was a further drop in telecoms subscription to 170,904,257 with a teledensity of 78.84 per cent. The drop record continued in July and August 2024, to reach 166,656,227 with a teledensity of 76.88 per cent and 159,503,865 with a teledensity of 73.58 per cent respectively.

Telecoms subscriptions dropped to its lowest ebb in September 2024, to as low as 154,904,827 with a teledensity of 71.46 per cent.

Telecoms subscriptions, however, started showing some remarkable improvements, and increased from 154,904,827 in September 2024, to 157,600,321 with increased teledensity of 72.7 per cent in October 2024. In November 2024, the figure further increased to 159,852,945 with a teledensity of 73.74 per cent, with a further increase in December 2024 to reach 164,926,599 with a teledensity of 76.08 per cent, before reaching 169,318,076 with a teledensity of 78.1 per cent in January 2025, according to NCC statistics.     

Teledensity is the total number of subscribers in a given location, calculated in percentage. From September 2023, teledensity is calculated based on National Population Commission’s projected population figure of 216 million.

 “The removal of Subscriber Identification Modules (SIMs) that are not linked to verifiable National Identification Numbers (NINs) and the rectification of a major discrepancy by a Mobile Network Operator explain the significant drop in Nigeria’s telecoms subscriber base,” NCC said.

Chairman, Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), Gbenga Adebayo, said with the conclusion of NIN-SIM linkage exercise of old SIM cards, there would be continuous increase in telecoms subscriptions, going forward.

The NCC statistics also showed the current market share of telecoms operators, where MTN has the largest market share of 51.79 per cent, followed by Airtel with 34.11 per cent, Globacom with 12.15 per cent and 9mobile with 1.94 per cent market share.