Telecommunications firms in Nigeria lost a whopping N25.92bn voice calls revenue in 2017 as a result of the decline in number of subscribers in the country.
MTN, GLO, Airtel, 9mobile and other smaller operators saw a sharp plunge in the number of telecoms subscribers from 155 million in January to 140.7 million by December, figures from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) revealed.
Following rapidly declining average revenue per user for voice calls, which since 2004 had decreased from just over $15 per month per subscriber to a new low of $4 due to the recent recession, telcos lost an average of N2.1bn monthly and N25.92bn for the whole of last year, experts revealed.
The telcos recorded 15 million reduction in the number of subscribers across board in the last 12 months.
An average Nigerian telephone users spends an average of N1,440 for voice calls every month, but some spend far more than that.
On-Net and Off-Net per minute tariffs stand at N12.01k and N12.64 respectively,Daily Trust reports.
However, what the telcos lost in voice calls, they recouped in manifold through data sales as subscribers in Nigeria spent over N2.346trn on internet data last year, analysis of mobile users’ average data usage per month has shown.
The Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria, ALTON, said the decreasing revenue of their members due to decline in subscribers’ base, increase operating cost and intrusion of Over The Top services is of great concern to its members.
ALTON’s chairman, Engr Gbenga Adebayo, said increasing usage of Over The Top (OTT) services by customers is adversely impacting on traditional telecoms platforms.
