Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) September report reveals Telecom giants, MTN lost a sizeable chunk of its mobile subscribers. This would be the first time the telecom giant will slip up in the last 12 months.
MTN saw its subscriber base decline by 448,431 subscribers in the month of September to 82,635,082. The Y’ello brand had 83,083,913 subscribers in August.
The company had a similar downturn experience one ago, where it saw its subscriber base shrink from 65,707,899 to 65,328,104 in August 2019.
This development comes as a surprise as MTN had stated earlier that it added 3.9 million new subscribers in its Q3 report that ended September 30, 2020.
Globacom is the highest gainer
Despite this development, MTN maintains its position as the market leader, however, Globacom saw its share of the market surge within the period under review. The telco recorded 1.32 million new subscribers to bring its total number of subscribers to 54.25 million.
Airtel comes in second, adding 483,851 subscribers to widen the gap between itself and Globacom. Airtel now has a total mobile subscriber base of 55.25 million as against Globacoms 54.25 million.
Keeping its steady growth from June, 9mobile added another 351,610 subscribers in September to bring its total number of subscribers to 12.72 million.
In general, the total number of mobile subscribers in the country rose to 204.86 million. This indicates an addition of about 1.7 million subscribers in the last month.
Internet subscribers hit 150 million
All 4 major mobile operators reported an increase in internet subscribers in September. This brings the total number of internet subscribers in the country to 151.06 million.
Globacom was also the highest internet gainer of the month, adding 638,230 subscribers to bring its total to about 39.12 million. Airtel followed closely, adding 519,257 subscribers to bring its total to 40.31 million during the month.
Despite the drop in mobile subscribers, MTN recorded growth in internet subscribers. The telco added 462,484 subscribers to extend its number of subscribers to 64.35 million.
9mobile continued its steady climb from June, adding just 104,473 internet subscribers to bring its total number of subscribers to 7.27 million.
Suggested read: NCC Approves e-SIM Trial for MTN, 9Mobile to Run for One Year
Over 19,400 porters
9mobile regained its crown as the most favourable network for porters in the month of September. The telco recorded 6,963 users joining from other operators.
Airtel comes in second with 6,506 subscribers porting into its network. MTN follows with the number of porting subscribers increasing to 5,635 during the month. Globacom remains bottom of the log with just 308 incoming porters.
On the outgoing end, Globacom leads the chart with 7,646 subscribers porting to other mobile operators. Airtel follows with 4,491 subscribers leaving its network during the month while MTN and 9mobile lost the fewest with 3,850 and 3,003 subscribers lost respectively.
Nigeria’s Broadband penetration exceeds 45%
Broadband penetration in the country rose above 45% in September after gaining an impressive 2.13% during the month. The number of 3G and 4G subscribers also rose to 86.71 million from 82.65 million in the previous month
In summary, September wasn’t a good month for market leaders, MTN as it recorded its slowest growth in months. However, the growth of the industry was steady with internet subscribers crossing 150 million mark and broadband penetration rising above 45%.
