Telcos Lost More Subscribers In April Following The NCC Decision To Lift The Sim Card Ban
Telcos lost more subscribers in April following the NCC's decision to lift the sim card ban
For Nigerian telcos, 2021 will continue to be a year of declining numbers. Even after the sim registration ban was lifted in December last year, the downward trend continues.
According to recently released statistics from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), the country's telcos lost a total of 3.7 million subscribers in April following the lifting of the ban.
By comparison, the March ban resulted in the loss of 3.65 million subscribers. This demonstrates that the problem of telcos losing subscribers continuously extends beyond the NCC's ban.
This, however, creates an impasse because telcos, who are best equipped to pinpoint the source of the subscriber decline, have pointed to the sim ban.
MTN and Airtel both cited the ban as a primary reason for the decline in their first-quarter results.
Without insider knowledge, determining additional possible causes beyond the obvious is a craps game. Damilare, a technology analyst, believes that the decline is still connected to the SIM ban in some way.
According to him, some subscribers were unable to reclaim their sims after the ban was lifted. Damilare explained that for many, the new requirements for purchasing and retrieving sim cards, which include a valid National Identification Number, remain a significant impediment.
According to a Twitter user, it could be as a result of the unrest in the country's northern and southern regions. He explained that network disruptions in conflict zones, as well as other logistical issues, could have contributed to the drop.
According to David, a communications expert, there is a possibility that people with multiple sims will abandon them as a result of the new NIN-SIM linkage requirement.
While their arguments are sound, there are no certainties because there are no data to support them. To help you better understand the current state of the telecom industry, we've broken down the report.
Subscribers fall below 190 million in total
With the reported losses, it's unsurprising that the country's total subscriber base fell below 190 million during the month. However, it's worth noting that this is the lowest it's been since March 2020.
According to the NCC, the total number of mobile subscribers has decreased by 2% to 188.37 million from 192 million in April. Similarly, the number of internet subscribers decreased during the month, falling from 144.58 million to 141.4 million.
Globacom was the month's biggest loser, according to a breakdown. It lost approximately 2.31 million subscribers and now has a total of approximately 50.59 million subscribers.
MTN was not far behind, losing approximately 1.1 million subscribers. However, its market leadership remains unaffected, with a total subscriber base of 74.81 million.
9mobile lost the fewest subscribers of all the telcos. The company lost just 71,000 subscribers, bringing its total to 12.77 million.
Airtel, on the other hand, lost approximately 207,000 subscribers, bringing its total to 50.17 million at the end of the month.
MTN continues to reign supreme
MTN was the biggest loser in terms of internet subscribers, losing approximately 1.12 million subscribers. Despite this, its monthly total surpassed 60 million.
In a reversal of fortunes, Globacom follows this time with a loss of approximately 1 million internet subscribers. Its monthly total of 37.7 million subscribers remained higher than Airtel's 37.02 million, despite a loss of about 750 thousand subscribers.
9mobile lost the fewest subscribers, dropping from 6.22 million to 195,000 in April.
Nigeria's broadband penetration has returned to 40%
Broadband penetration in the country was not immune to the effects of the subscriber decline. Percentage penetration decreased to 40.66 percent in May, following a 0.52 percent decline in April.
This is the first time since May 2020 that broadband penetration has decreased.
Additionally, the number of 3G and 4G subscribers fell to 77.6 million, down from 78.61 million the previous month.
In Conclusion
Despite the lifting of the SIM ban in April, the decline in telecom subscribers indicates that there are other underlying conditions. However, it is possible that the situation would have been worse had the SIM ban remained in place.
On the other hand, the absence of porting data indicates that telcos are still implementing processes to comply with the NCC's SIM registration and porting guidelines. This means that the number may naturally increase over time.
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