Active subscriptions for mobile services in Nigeria drop to 223.3 million

According to the latest data released by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), the combined number of active subscribers across the major networks of MTN, Glo, Airtel, and 9mobile stood at 225.8 million in March 2023.

The April figure which stood at 223.3 million, showed that the MNOs lost about 2.5 million subscribers when compared to the number of subscribers in March 2023. This figure recorded in April marks the second consecutive drop for the MNOs.

In March 2023, the number of mobile subscribers dropped by 1.01 million from 226.84 million recorded in February 2023 to 225.82 million indicating a 0.45% decrease.

An analysis of the MNO's performance for the review period showed that MTN recorded the highest drop in subscriptions as about 2.8 million subscribers left the network.

This drop in subscribers was traced to customers who dropped their SIMS due to the mandatory linkage to the National Identification Number (NIN) as mandated by the FG.

The drop in subscriptions reduced MTN’s total subscriber base from the 91.6 million it recorded in March 2023 to 88.6 million in April. As of February 2023, MTN had 91.71 million subscribers.

The highest gain in mobile subscriptions for April 2023 was recorded by 9mobile as its database added 262,737 new subscribers. The addition swelled the MNO’s subscriber base from 13.1 million in March to 13.4 million in April.

Glo came next as it also recorded an increase in the number of new subscriptions during the period with 128,017 new subscribers. The addition helped Glo retain its position as the second-largest operator by subscriber base in April 2023. Its total subscriptions increased to 60.9 million from 60.7 million recorded in March this year.

Airtel Nigeria also added 3,285 fresh subscriptions during the period in review thus bringing its total subscriptions to 60.33 million from 60.32 million in March.