Active internet subscriptions rose 2.7% to 145.8m in Q1 2022 – NBS

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) says active internet subscriptions in Nigeria rose quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) by 2.7 percent to 145.8 million in the first quarter of 2022 (Q1’22).

The figure takes a leap from the 141.9 million active internet subscriptions recorded by the NBS in the fourth quarter of 2021 (Q4’21).

Data from the Telecoms Data: Active Voice and Internet, Porting and Tariff Information’ Q1 2022 compiled by the NBS shows that active internet subscriptions increased by 0.62% increase year-on-year.

On state analysis, Lagos had the highest number of active internet subscribers in Q1 2022 with 17,839,569, followed by Ogun with 8,538,812 and Kano with 8,364,587.

Bayelsa had the least subscriptions with 1,043,059, followed by Ebonyi and Ekiti with 1,230,081 and 1,373,888 respectively.

MTN had the largest share of the subscriptions with 60,707,392 subscriptions. Glo placed second with 39,568,503 subscriptions. Airtel followed closely in the third spot with 39,374,465 subscriptions.

EMTS (9mobile) placed fourth with 5,552,068 subscriptions. IPNX (10,273 subscriptions), 21st Cent (2,571), Smile (320,892) and ntel (26,291) also contributed to the internet subscription figures.

Zone by Zone breakdown

According to the report, the South West region had 41,988,986 active internet subscriptions, just as the South South gained 21,059,374 subscriptions. The North Central added 27,476,820 to the internet subscription figures, North West added 26,912,492 subscriptions.

The North East contributed 14,142,290 to the subscriptions with the South East region posting 13,982,821 subscriptions to the figures.

Lagos dominates again

In Q1 2022, 199,558,540 active voice subscribers were recorded compared to 192,413,613 in Q1 2021. This represents a 3.71% rise in voice subscriptions Year-on-Year. On a Quarter-on-Quarter basis, growth stood at 2.09%.

Again, Lagos recorded 24,226,878, followed by Kano with 11,666,630 and Ogun with 11,537,006, while Bayelsa had the least with 1,445,123, followed by Ekiti with 1,786,160.

MTN had the largest share of the subscriptions, gaining 75,177,563 subscriptions. Glo placed second with 55,881,893 subscriptions. Airtel followed closely in the third spot with 55,370,983 subscriptions.

EMTS (9mobile) placed fourth with 12,770,917 subscriptions. IPNX (1,265 subscriptions), 21st Cent (94,236), Smile (249,200) and ntel (2,311) also contributed to the voice subscription figures.

According to the report, the South West region had 56,609,403 subscriptions just as the South South gained 29,241,597 subscriptions. The North Central added 37,429,107 from the voice subscription figures, North West made 37,329,859 subscriptions.

The North East contributed 19,379,078 to the subscriptions with the South East region posting 19,569,496 subscriptions to the figures.

Porting continues

In Q1 2022, telecoms operators recorded 2,202 ported-in activities. MTN led with 1,452 moves, Glo placed second with 345 moves. Airtel ranked third with 290, 9mobile got 115 from the activities.

Porting describes moving a phone number from one telecoms service provider to another provider. With the process, the old account associated with the number will be closed. 

On the ported-out end, Airtel was the biggest loser. The operator lost 6,393 subscribers. 9mobile followed on the chart with 1,370 subscribers. Glo lost 276 just as MTN lost 166 subscribers.

Conclusion

Telecom operators have since gone past the NIN-SIM linkage policy that made them lose significant revenue when it was first announced in December 2020.

Revenue from voice and data subscriptions will keep growing as organisations settle for hybrid and work-from-home models to drive learning and work. This plays to the operators’ advantage.

Beyond the growing demand for internet connectivity, operators are also reaping from relatively affordable rates and marketing campaigns. This is well captured in Q1 2022 subscription figures and could improve further in Q2 reports.