Internet subscriptions fall to 158 million, says NCC

Mobile Internet subscriptions fell to 158.48 million, despite a noticeable rise in Internet usage to 655,879.86 terabytes in August 2023.

In August, 507,621 mobile subscriptions were lost month-on-month, but Internet usage grew by 6.61 per cent to 655,879.86 from 615,207.39 as of July 2023 according to data from the Nigerian Communications Commission.

In the month under review, MTN Nigeria lost 0.063 per cent of its mobile Internet subscriptions to fall to 68.03 million subscriptions. Globacom fell by 0.064 per cent to 43.97 million while Airtel fell by 0.071 per cent to 42.96 million.  9mobile also recorded a decline of 11.63 per cent to 3.51 million.

Data from the NCC also revealed that broadband penetration fell to 45.57 per cent in the month under review. Nigeria’s broadband penetration has recorded setbacks in 2023, despite a national plan to hit 50 per cent before the end of the year.

The Nigerian National Broadband Plan (2020 – 2025) had set a 50 per cent broadband penetration target for 2023.

Broadband refers to high-speed Internet connection, and broadband penetration is measured by the number of broadband subscribers per 100 inhabitants. Increasing Internet penetration is critical to increasing jobs and reducing poverty.

A part of the broadband policy document, said, “Rapid rollout of broadband services will address various socio-economic challenges faced by the country, including the need to grow its economy, create jobs, rapidly expand the tax base, and improve digital literacy and educational standards.”

The Executive Vice-Chairman, NCC, Prof. Umar Danbatta, stated that the deployment of robust telecoms/broadband infrastructure is crucial to improving the quality of service and quality of experience for telecoms consumers.

Commenting on how 5G will improve Internet speed, he said, “As you may be aware, the NCC is driving initiatives for the full deployment of Fifth Generation network in Nigeria.

“Already, 5G spectrum licenses have been issued to companies for rollout. It is important to state that the 5G network will bring substantial network improvements, including higher connection speed, mobility and capacity, as well as low-latency capabilities to communications services in Nigeria,” Danbatta discosed.