Following the report of MTN and Airtel Africa telecommunication reportedly losing N485.69 billion same period, it was also revealed that mobile subscriptions have recorded a significant crash of 6.1 million in the second quarter of 2023. According to data obtained from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), the total number of mobile subscriptions in the country fell to 219.77 million as of the end of June 2023, from 225.82 million at the end of December 2022. MTN Nigeria, Airtel Africa, Globacom, and 9mobile recorded mixed fortunes during the quarter.
MTN (84.66 million), while still retaining its spot as the largest telco, lost 6.89 million mobile subscriptions in the quarter under review. Airtel lost 137,828 subscriptions to close the quarter with 60.19 million.
Glo and 9mobile both gained subscriptions, as the former’s subscriptions grew by 533,582 to 61.33 million as of the end of March 2023, while 9mobile’s subscription base increased by 437,823 to 13.58 million. Also, teledensity, the number of active telephone connections per 100 inhabitants living within an area, continued its free fall and declined to 115.30 percent in the second quarter from 118.48 percent in the first quarter.
The decline in mobile subscriptions has been blamed on the impact of the country’s economic crisis, naira scarcity, and the decline in purchasing power. In MTN’s first quarter report, the Chief Executive Officer, Karl Toriola, said, “We continued to experience headwinds in our operating environment in the first quarter of 2023.
“The impacts of the ongoing global macroeconomic and geopolitical developments on energy, food, and general inflation were exacerbated locally by petrol and cash shortages experienced during the period. This placed additional pressure on economic activity, consumers, and businesses.”
In Q2, 2023, MTN stated that increasing the minimum age requirement from 16 to 18, following a new NCC directive, affected its active subscriber base. It stated, “In Q2, we implemented the minimum age requirement for SIM registration from 16 to 18 years, which impacted the run rate of gross connections and active data subscribers in the quarter.” Meanwhile, MTN and Airtel had stated, in their second quarter/half-year reports, that they lost N485.69bn to the recent fall in the naira’s value.
It was revealed that the devaluation of the naira following the Central Bank of Nigeria’s attempt to close the gap between the official and parallel rates of the naira had negatively impacted their businesses.
