Three states in Nigeria: Lagos, Kano and Ogun had the highest number of active voice subscribers in Q2 2022. This is just as MTN had the highest share of subscriptions within the period.
Data provided by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), verified and validated by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), recently showed that Lagos had the highest number of active voice subscribers in Q2 2022 with 25,002,808, followed by Kano with 12,499,401 and Ogun with 12,288,042.
On the other hand, Bayelsa recorded the least with 1,530,739, followed by Ekiti with 1,775,647, and Ebonyi with 1,840,443.
According to the data obtained by THEWILL, Lagos State led the pack with active Internet subscribers of 18,441,791, followed by Kano with 9,255,299 and Ogun with 9,151,148. On the other hand, Bayelsa had the least with 1,126,076, followed by Ebonyi and Ekiti with 1,319,005 and 1,380,154 respectively.
So far, the total number of active voice subscribers in Q2 2022 was 206,449,125, higher relative to 187,611,501 in Q2 2021. This represents a 10.04 per cent rise on a year-on-year basis.
However, on a quarter-on-quarter basis, growth stood at 3.45 per cent, an increase from the 199,558,540 subscribers recorded in Q1 2022.
Similarly, a total of 151,332,090 active Internet subscribers were recorded in Q2 2022 from the 140,175,169 reported in Q2 2021. This indicates a growth rate of 7.96 per cent on a year-on-year basis. On a quarter-on-quarter basis, growth stood at 3.76 per cent.
Meanwhile, despite boasting a less than 50 per cent broadband penetration, Nigeria’s data usage increased by 413.79 per cent as more subscribers joined the nation’s Internet population.
Nigeria’s Internet data usage increased from 68,154.12 terabytes in 2018 to 350,165.39 terabytes in 2021 based on industry statistics from the NCC.
Within the time under review, broadband penetration increased from 19.97 per cent (38.12 million) in January 2018 to 40.88 per cent (78.04 million).
GSM Internet subscribers increased from 100.23 million in January 2018 to 141.62 million. Despite its low broadband penetration, Nigeria has made strides in expanding its broadband capacity.
When data usage increased from 68,154.12TB in December 2018 to 125,149.86TB as of December 2019, the NCC had said, “The increase in data usage is directly linked to the increased Broadband penetration in the country within the year.
‘The commission provided the necessary regulator support for Operators to implement the various initiatives within the year that increased data usage in the country.”
In 2020, when data consumption increased from 123,648TB in December 2019 to 205,880.4TB as of December 2020, the commission added, “The increase in data usage is directly linked to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted normal activities and most functions had to be held virtually including schools, corporate meetings etc.”
Increasing smartphone and 4G coverage have been linked to the recent growth in the nation’s data usage. Data consumption grew from 205,880.4TB in December 2020 to 350,165.39TB in December 2021.
Meanwhile, the global telecom services market size was valued at USD 1,657.7 billion in 2020 and is expected to expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.4 per cent from 2021 to 2028. Rising spending on the deployment of 5G infrastructures due to the shift in customer inclination toward next-generation technologies and smartphone devices is one of the key factors driving this industry.
An increasing number of mobile subscribers, soaring demand for high-speed data connectivity, and the growing demand for value-added managed services are the other potential factors fueling the market growth.
The global communication network has undoubtedly been one of the prominent areas for continued technological advancements over the past few decades.
The market for telecom services has also witnessed significant improvements in data speeds, from Global System for Mobile communications (GSM) and Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) to Third Generation (3G), Fourth Generation (4G), and now the commercialization of Fifth Generation (5G) networks. The advent of data connectivity has made possible the reduction in the duration of transferring large chunks of data from days to hours and now to a few seconds.
In today’s digital age, customers favor Over-The-Top (OTT) channels for a variety of reasons, among which the number of viewing options, and the pricing offered are the most prominent ones. The OTT solution providers offer video, audio, and other media content over the internet. Usually, they are not bound to price agreements with limited viewing choices to pick from. Common instances of OTT applications are Netflix, Amazon Video, Roku, Hotstar, HBO, and others.
Consumers and marketers alike are getting more acquainted with OTT applications and content. Furthermore, smartphone display and sound quality, open-source platforms, and super-fast Internet Protocol (IP) networks among other innovative services act as mobilising factors to draw more consumers to the OTT providers ‘freemium-based’ business models, thus witnessing an ever-growing adoption rate and boosting the market growth.
However, the escalating consumption of digital media platforms by global customers has resulted in the sudden demand for higher bandwidths with high-speed connectivity. With the upsurge in the consumption of these platforms, the telecom service companies are urging OTT providers to reduce the streaming resolution of their media content.
In fact, the cellular operators association in some countries have requested video streaming providers to reduce their content quality from High Definition (HD) to Standard Definition (SD). To avoid the congestion in internet traffic, especially when most people are working from home and require high bandwidth, some governments are also helping the market for telecom services to ensure the smooth functioning of their data and voice carriers.
Anthony Awunor, is a business correspondent who holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Linguistics (UNILAG). He is also an alumnus of the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT), Zaria Kaduna State. He lives in Lagos.
