The latest industry data from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), shows that active mobile lines increased by 1.2% m/m and 12.0% y/y to 214.7 million as at October 2022. In contrast, total internet connections was flat m/m at 152.7 million. This figure represents a teledensity of c.107% and an internet penetration rate of c.76.4% based on a population of 200 million. The communications sector is one of the fastest growing sectors of the economy and its data series is one of the very few available indicators of consumption patterns.      

The steady growth in active mobile subscribers has seen mobile network operators gain a total of 20 million new subscribers since the beginning of the year.

According to the NCC, 2,790 mobile subscribers moved from one service provider to another via mobile number portability (MNP). The major beneficiaries were MTN Nigeria and Globacom with porter additions of c.1,925 and c.363 respectively.

In terms of market share dynamics, in October ’22, MTN Nigeria had the largest market share (38.9%) with 83.3 mobile active subscribers.

Globacom and Airtel came in second and third, with active subscriber market shares of 27.8% and 27.4% respectively. 9Mobile accounted for a paltry market share of 6.0%.

As part of Nigeria’s 5G technology deployment plan, the NCC recently announced Airtel as the sole bidder for the remaining 3.5GHz spectrum license required for deployment of 5G services in the country.

Last year, the commission issued 5G licences to two telecommunication companies, MTN Nigeria and Mafab communications. While MTN had long deployed the first 5G network in the country, Mafab communications is expected to roll out its 5G network in January 2023.

According to the latest mobility report released by Ericsson, Nigeria and South Africa are projected to drive growth of 5G connections in Sub-Saharan Africa to 150 million by 2028

In terms of its economic impact, the deployment of 5G will further boost economic growth by enhancing the growth possibilities of businesses in the fintech, e-commerce, and payment sectors.