from OKORO CHINEDU in Lagos, Nigeria
LAGOS, (CAJ News) – NIGERIA’S active mobile and internet subscriptions are on a steady decline as a result of latest regulations by authorities in Africa’s biggest country by population and economy.
Regulations include the National Identification Number (NIN) and SIM link exercise required by the Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC).
The latest data released by the NCC indicate that subscriptions reduced by 1,9 percent month-on-month and 2,2 percent m/m to around 188,7 million and 141,8 million respectively in April.
The fall in subscription is the fifth consecutive monthly decline.
FBNQuest, the market watcher, noted the exercise, which also included restrictions on SIM sales and activation, resulted in a net active subscriber churn of 15,9 million over the five-month period to April and a reduction in the teledensity rate to 94,4 percent in April 2021 from 102,3 percent in December 2020.
Although the churn resulted in a deceleration in telecoms gross domestic product growth to 7,7 percent in the first quarter of 2021 from 17,6 percent in Q4 ’20, the sector was still among the fastest-growing in Q1, and a key driver of Nigeria’s 0,5 percent GDP growth.
Despite the contraction in active subscriber number, the strong growth recorded by the sector was mainly underpinned by double-digit growth in data traffic due to increased data usage per user, following strong demand for remote working, e-commerce, and streaming services for entertainment, FBNQuest stated.
“We estimate that the sector’s voice traffic also grew by between high single-digit to mid-teens range following a recovery in voice demand after a weak spell in Q2 ‘20 because of the knock-on effects of the pandemic.”
The market watcher forecast the lifting of the ban on SIM sales and activation by network operators to bode well for sector revenue and earnings growth.
“We continue to see robust growth in the data segment, driven by mobile data traffic and increasing adoption of mobile applications and e-commerce,” FBNQuest stated.
– CAJ News