Home Telecoms Telecoms active subscribers hit all-time high at 214.35 million in October

Telecoms active subscribers hit all-time high at 214.35 million in October

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The Nigerian Communications Commission, (NCC) has released new statistics of active telecommunication subscribers in October.

According to the NCC, there were 214.35 million subscribers — the highest number recorded so far since the total number of subscribers peaked at 207.58 million in October 2020, months before the SIM-NIN linkage.

This growth in subscribers was attributed to more subscribers getting new SIMs in a bid to circumvent restrictions on SIMs that had not been linked with their National Identification Numbers.

The consistent growth witnessed in the number of telecoms subscribers in 2022 aligns with GSMA’s growth prediction for the industry.

According to the global industry’s association, Nigeria has a sizeable number of its population under the age of 18, indicating that its subscriber growth would remain strong for the foreseeable future as more young consumers crossed into adulthood and subscribed to mobile services.

GSMA expects 18 million new Nigerians to become unique telecoms subscribers by 2025. Mobile connectivity is at the core of connectivity in Nigeria, with the majority of online services accessed through mobile channels in the nation.

GSMA believes that mobile connectivity is set to play a crucial role in defining the new normal in the nation. It said, “In 2021, mobile technologies and services generated around 8 per cent of GDP across Sub-Saharan Africa, a contribution that amounted to almost $140bn of economic value added.

“The mobile ecosystem also supported more than 3.2 million jobs (directly and indirectly) and made a substantial contribution to the funding of the public sector, with $16bn raised through taxes on the sector. By 2025, mobile’s contribution will grow by $65bn (to almost $155bn), as the countries in the region increasingly benefit from the improvements in productivity and efficiency brought about by the increased take-up of mobile services.”

Regardless of this growth, the Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy noted that about 31.6 million Nigerians live in areas without telecoms coverage.

The ministry stated that the absence of such coverage had enabled criminal activities and insecurity in these unserved areas.

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