The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) recently released data showing a significant decline in active mobile subscriptions across the country’s leading telecom operators. This drop is attributed to the disconnection of 64.3 million SIM cards as part of the NCC’s initiative to tighten security and reduce fraud through the National Identification Number (NIN) verification process. Globacom and 9mobile were the hardest hit by the exercise.
Globacom lost 43 million lines, reducing its user base from 62.1 million in March to 19.1 million by September. 9mobile saw a reduction of approximately 8 million customers, declining from 11.6 million in March to 3.6 million. Market leaders MTN and Airtel also experienced losses, albeit to a lesser extent.
MTN lost 3.7 million subscribers, ending with 78 million active subscriptions, while Airtel had 53.7 million subscribers at the end of September, down from 63.3 million in March. The enforced disconnections underscore the ongoing efforts by Nigerian authorities and telecommunications firms to streamline and secure the country’s mobile communication infrastructure.
Nigeria’s mobile subscription decline
Discrepancies between the information provided during SIM registration and what was recorded in the NIN database have caused many users to be disconnected. Telecom expert Mr. Adewale Adeoye noted that the recent verification exercise appeared to be the most thorough yet, suggesting that the system has been thoroughly sanitized.
“This is a positive development for Nigeria and the telecom industry. It means that every Nigerian on the telecom network is now properly identified, which will promote the decent use of telecommunication services,” he said. The compulsory linkage of NIN with SIM began in December 2020 when the government directed telecommunication companies to bar unregistered SIM cards and SIMs that were not linked to NIN.
Several deadlines were set, with the final deadline fixed for September 14 for not just linking but also verifying all NINs linked with SIMs. As of September 2024, the number of active subscriptions in Nigeria was 154.6 million, down from 219 million in March. The reduction in subscriptions is bound to affect the Q3 2024 revenue of the telecom operators, which will soon be released.
