According to data provided on the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) website, Nigeria’s main telecommunication operators lost over 17,000 subscribers between June 2021 and February 2022.
According to regulatory data, the four largest telecom operators—MTN, Airtel, Globacom, and 9Mobile—lost varied numbers of users over a nine-month period.
With 8,133 users opting out of the network, 9mobile, Nigeria’s fourth largest telecoms operator, topped the list. Airtel, which lost 5,162 subscribers, was followed by MTN, which lost 2243 subscribers.
Globacom Nigeria had the fewest losses, with 1,492 subscribers opting out of its service during the period under consideration.
The NCC controls and monitors the activities and services of telecom providers like as MTN, Glo, Airtel, and 9mobile, among others.
Gains
Meanwhile, according to information obtained from the NCC website, 86,978 users switched networks in 2018, 139,022 in 2019, and 182,958 in 2020.
This was in keeping with the National Communications Commission’s Mobile Number Portability (MNP) service, which allowed customers to switch networks without losing their phone numbers.
While mobile network providers lost users throughout the nine-month period, they also acquired new ones.
For example, MTN’s customer base increased dramatically, accounting for 11,344 of the 20,761 new subscribers added by the four major telecom carriers over a nine-month period.
Airtel, on the other hand, added 6,187 new subscribers, while Glo added 1,832 new subscribers.
9Mobile had the fewest new users, with only 1,398 added in the nine months under consideration. The telco, formerly known as Etisalat, had roughly N5.80 million users as of October 2021, according to the NCC.
MTN, on the other hand, commenced operations in Nigeria in 2001 and now has over 68.5 million users, accounting for the majority of the country’s 198.12 million subscribers.
MTN lost 10% of its mobile users in 2021, dropping from 76.5 million to 68.5 million. However, according to the company’s audited report, data subscribers climbed by 5.3 percent to 34.3 million in 2021.
