For the first time since February 2024, Nigeria’s internet usage declines in September 2024.
This is in accordance with the Nigerian Communications Commission’s most recent industry statistics report.
Internet Usage Data fell to 850,249.09 terabytes in September, a slight 0.82 per cent drop from the 853,954.05 terabytes recorded in August. This drop coincided with a decrease in subscriber base in the country in September.
The decline in subscriptions across telecom operators has been largely attributed to the recent verification of National Identification Numbers linked with SIM cards. As a result, the four major operators – MTN, Airtel, Globacom, and 9mobile – deactivated a total of 64.3 million lines.
The NCC report revealed that the verification exercise, which concluded on 14 September, had a significant impact on Globacom and 9mobile in particular.
Globacom, which had 62.1 million active subscriptions in March, ended September with only 19.1 million subscribers, shedding a massive 43 million lines.
Similarly, 9mobile saw its subscription base drop from 11.6 million in March to 3.6 million by September, a loss of about 8 million subscribers.
The industry now has 154.6 million active subscriptions as of September 2024, down from the 219 million reported in March.
Despite the reduction, MTN retained its market leadership with 78 million active subscriptions, though it also lost 3.7 million users during the verification exercise.
Airtel, holding the second spot, ended September with 53.7 million subscriptions, a decline from the 63.3 million it had in March, reflecting a loss of 9.6 million subscriptions over six months.
Nigeria’s adoption of 5G, however, is still making steady headway. Increased interest in the high-speed technology was shown by the penetration rate, which increased to 2.19 percent in September from 2.12 percent in August and 1.95 percent in July.
