Global Courant
In Nigeria, fewer people now use mobile plans than a few months ago. According to facts according to the latest industry statistics released by the Nigerian Communications Commission in May 2023, there were 220.93 million mobile subscribers, up from the 225.88 million mobile subscribers registered in January 2023. Among the four largest mobile operators in Nigeria, MTN Nigeria lost 4.03 million (from 92.71 million to 88.68 million), while maintaining its position as the country’s largest mobile network operator. However, operators such as Globacom grew marginally by 172,867 from 60.76 million to 60.93 million; Airtel added 31,705 new subscriptions, growing from 60.30 million to 60.33 million; and 9mobile witnessed the highest growth, adding 330,003 new subscriptions to 13.40 million, up from 13.07 million in the reporting period.
Over the years, work has been done in Nigeria to improve the country’s mobile connectivity. The country has since recorded a steady increase in mobile phone users 2001. Ironically, the current decline comes after the number of mobile subscriptions reached an all-time high of 227.17 million in February of the same year. Since then, numbers have steadily declined, reflecting a worrying trend for the country’s mobile connectivity. It is the first time since June 2021 that mobile subscriptions have fallen consistently.
There are a few reasons why people have canceled their mobile plans. In 2020 and 2021, the federal government made it mandatory for people to link their SIM card to their National Identification Numbers (NINs). This had an impact on the mobile industry and caused a sharp drop in the number of mobile subscriptions. These policies have made it more difficult for people to get new SIM cards and more expensive to keep their old SIM cards active. Since then, however, subscriptions have improved and soared to all-time highs. In February 2023, Nigeria experienced a cash crisis that left many people dependent on mobile money for their daily transactions. It is that month that the number of mobile subscribers reached an all-time high of 227.17 million. The value of mobile transactions rose 124.8% to N2.4 trillion from N1.1 trillion in the period.
Another reason why people have canceled their cell phone subscriptions is inflation. According to the National Bureau of Statistics, Headline inflation in Nigeria accelerated for the fifth consecutive time to 22.41 percent in May. In MTN Nigeria’s first quarterly report, Chief Executive Officer, Karl Toriola, explained that these factors have put pressure on economic activities, consumers and businesses. According to Tariola, “We continued to experience headwinds in our business environment in the first quarter of 2023. The impact of ongoing global macroeconomic and geopolitical developments on energy, food and headline inflation was exacerbated locally by gasoline and cash shortages during the period. This put additional pressure on economic activity, consumers and businesses.” MTN Nigeria, which lost the most mobile subscriptions in the period, with 4.03 million lost subscriptions, is known for its high service costs. In Be able towhen the telecom company announced that it was planning to raise prices in selected markets, including Nigeria, due to high inflation in the business environment, subscribers took to social media to express their concern that the services currently provided by the telecom operator delivered became exorbitant, and it became increasingly difficult to keep up with the high costs.
The telecom industry is important to the Nigerian economy. Not only is the sector one of the fastest growing industries, directly creating millions of jobs, but it is also crucial for innovation and development as it provides the backbone infrastructure for transnational business. Year on year, the sector contributes about 9.19 percent of Nigeria’s GDP. In the first quarter of 2022, industry contributed 12.94 percent to the country’s GDP, and in the first quarter of 2023, it contributed 14.13 percent, showing an impressive industry growth trend. Nigeria’s mobile population is also the largest in Africa and the previous steady growth in mobile subscriptions has been attributed to increased productivity and efficiency in other sectors. Interestingly, Nigeria’s mobile internet subscribers have increased by 9.26 million over the past year, with a record high of over 2.7 million new internet users in March this year. Therefore, the decline of the most basic form of connectivity should be a concern for Nigeria’s telecom industry.
