Nigeria’s telecommunications sector posts N13tr revenue

The Nigerian telecom sector has posted a total of N12.978 trillion revenue over the last two years, according to industry data obtained at the weekend.

The sector comprises mobile network operators (MNOs) Internet Service Providers (ISPs), Value Added Services (VAS); Collocation and infrastructure sharing and others.

According to the stats collated by the industry regulator, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), between year 2023 and 2024, the industry posted N13 trillion as revenues for the periods under review.

In 2023, the industry posted N5.30 trillion revenue while the following year, the sector posted N7.67 trillion marking an increase of 44.70 per cent from the N5. 303 trillion posted the year before.

Giving a breakdown of how the revenues were made in 2023, the document, entitled: Subscriber/Network Performance Report, prepared by the Policy, Competition and Economic Analysis department of the NCC showed that the global system for mobile communication (GSM) or MNOs posted a revenue of N4. 012 trillion  while fixed wired posted N273,010,222.21 as revenue. ISPs posted N89.806 billion while the Value Added Services (VAS) segment made N14. 560 billion.

Collocation and infrastructure sharing and other telecom operators posted N1. 14 trillion and N41.841 billion  respectively as revenues bringing total revenue to N5. 303 trillion.

In 2024, the GSM sector posted N 5,325,453,820,000.00 while the fixed wired earned N410,437,581.00 as revenue. ISPs made N165,690,191,444.41 while VAS posted N83,099,311,720.70. Collocation and infrastructure sharing and other telecom operators earned N2,049,886,255,131.59 and N49,591,142,329.07 respectively bringing the total revenue to N7,674,131,158,206.77.

Other major highlights of the report for 2023 included an increase in active subscribers from 222,571,568 subscriptions in 2022 to 224,713,710 as at December 2023. This is an increase of 2,142,142 subscriptions representing a 0.96per cent growth in active subscriptions year on year (YoY).

The increase in the operators’ subscriber base was attributed to a number of reasons which includes subscriber loyalty, promos, aggressive consumer acquisition drive, and competitive product offerings across all the networks.

Similarly, telephone density or teledensity which is the number of telephone connections for every 100 individuals living within an area decreased from 116.60per cent as at December 2022 to 103.66per cent by December 31st 2023 indicating a 11.10per cent loss.

The decline in teledensity was due to the adjustment made by the Commission on the population figure used in calculating teledensity.

The National Population Commission (NPC)’s projection of Nigeria’s population stood at 216,783,381 asof 2022, replacing the previously used 2017 projection of 190 million inhabitants.

The number of internet subscribers increased from 154,847,901 subscription as at December 2022 to 163,838,439 Subscriptions as at December 2023 representing an increase of 5.81 per cent and an added 8,990,538 subscription within the period under review.

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Broadband penetration rate – declined from 47.36per cent as at December 2022 to 43.71per cent as at December 2023. However, Broadband Subscriptions increased from 90,398,960 subscriptions in December 2022 to 94,757,184 subscriptions as at December 2023. The decline noted in the broadband penetration rate is due to the adjustment made by the Commission on the population figure.

For the year 2024, the number of active subscribers decreased from 224,713,710 subscriptions in 2023 to 164,926,599 active voice subscriptions as at December 2024. This represents an annual decrease of 59,787,111 subscriptions representing a 26.61per cent drop in active subscriptions YoY.

However, the NCC has achieved cellular coverage of over 95 per cent in Nigeria.

During the period under review, the NCC said it implemented the National Identification Number (NIN)- Subscriber Identification Module (SIM) integration policy to enhance national security and improve the efficiency of the telecommunications sector. The decision to implement NIN-SIM integration is driven by the need to enhance national security, improve data management and promote the overall development of Nigeria’s digital ecosystem. Hence, the drop in Nigeria’s telecoms subscriber base was attributed to the removal of SIMs that were not linked to verifiable NINs and the rectification of a major discrepancy by an MNO.

Teledensity consequently declined arising from the removal of SIMS not linked to a verifiable NIN. Nigeria’s Teledensity decreased from 103.66per cent as at December 2023 to 76.08per cent by December 2024 indicating a 26.61per cent decrease.

Also, total active internet subscriptions decreased from 163,838,439 subscription as at December 2023 to 139,282,108 Subscriptions as at December 2024 representing a decrease of 14.98per cent and a drop of 24,556,331 subscription within the period under review. The decline is also essentially due to

the effective implementation of the NIN-SIM policy and the rectification of counts of a major MNO.

With improved coverages of 3G, 4G and 5G at 89per cent, 84per cent and 13per cent respectively, Broadband has continued to increase though marginally in 2024. Broadband increased from 43.71per cent as at December 2023 to 44.43per cent as at December 2024.