The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has disclosed a significant rise in the number of internet subscribers in Nigeria, with figures reaching 132.40 million in September 2024.
This marks an increase of 1.45 million subscribers compared to 130.94 million recorded in August.
In its latest industry report, the NCC highlighted that major telecom operators, including MTN, Airtel, and Globacom, saw positive growth in internet subscriptions during this period, while 9mobile experienced a decline.
MTN Nigeria led the surge by adding 866,406 new internet subscribers, boosting its total from 67.52 million in August to 68.39 million in September. Airtel followed with a gain of 593,458 subscribers, increasing its user base from 44.20 million to 44.79 million. Globacom also showed progress, recording an increase of 206,391 subscribers and raising its total internet base from 16.71 million to 16.92 million.
Conversely, 9mobile faced a setback, witnessing a decrease of 206,364 internet subscribers. Its total fell from 2.49 million in August to 2.29 million in September.
The NCC report also revealed a downward trend in the total number of telephony subscribers, which dropped from 159.2 million in August to 154.6 million in September, marking a significant decrease of 4.6 million. MTN recorded the most substantial decline in this category, with its telephony subscriber base reducing from 80.13 million in August to 78.09 million in September, a loss of 2 million users.
While Airtel saw an increase in its voice subscriber count by 701,676, reaching 53.74 million, Globacom’s telephony base fell by 2.26 million, dropping from 22.21 million to 19.95 million. 9mobile’s voice subscribers also decreased significantly from 4.65 million in August to 3.63 million in September, reflecting a drop of 1.01 million users.
The report further indicated a decline in broadband penetration, which dropped to 41.56 percent in September from 43.16 per cent in August. This percentage corresponds to the proportion of the population with access to fix and mobile broadband services.
Additionally, there was a slight decrease in data usage across the country. The total data consumed dropped to 850,249.09 terabytes in September, representing a decline of 0.43 percent from the 853,954.05 terabytes recorded in August.
