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Nigeria: Country's Telecoms Subscriber Base Hits 60m
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This Day (Lagos)
6 May 2008
Posted to the web 6 May 2008
Efem Nkanga
Lagos
Despite quality of service issues which led to the Nigerian Communications Commission NCC directive to two major GSM operators to refund a total of 4.7 billion naira to subscribers on their networks, the nations subscribers base has increased to 60,941,434 as at March 2008.
This is an increase from 59,568,302 recorded in January this year. A breakdown of the recent data posted on the website of the NCC showed that GSM operators took the lions share with 57,622,901, while mobile Code Multiple Division Access CDMA recorded 780,938 and fixed wired/wireless recorded 2,537,504 lines.
The total active subscriber base was put at 45,899,711, up from 42,915,867 recorded in January. Out of this total, GSM recorded 43, 786,542 active lines, mobile CDMA, 567,185 and fixed wired/wireless 1,545,984.
Total installed capacity also increased to 88,471,789 up from 84,698,559 with mobile GSM also the highest with 79,625,308, mobile CDMA 3, 170,000. While fixed wired /wireless is 5,676,481.
This addition to the nation's subscriber base means that the telecoms teledensity ratio has increased from 30.65 in January to 32. 79 as at the end of March.
Over the years, since the introduction of the GSM technology into the nation's landscape, the telecoms subscriber base has consistently showed increases quarter by quarter and year by year.
From 2001, when MTN Nigeria, Celtel, formerly V mobile, Econet and Mtel, held sway, total subscriber base was 866,782 and teledensity was 0.73 . In 2002, the subscriber base more than doubled to 2,271,050 lines with a 1.89 teledensity ratio. Mobile GSM subscriber base took a major share of 1,569,050 lines, fixed line 702,000 lines. In 2003 the subscribers increased fundamentally with the entrance of Globacom, the nation's national carrier with came in with innovative tariffs and products like the "per second billing" which other operators had said was impossible to drive the nation's subscriber base to 4,021, 9445 with mobile GSM in the forefront with 3,149,472 lines and fixed line subscribers 872,473 lines and a double teledensity ratio at 3.35.
A phenomenal growth was recorded in 2004, a landmark year by all means with a teledensity increase from 3.35 to 8.5 and a more than double subscriber base increase to 10, 201, 209 from 4,021, 9445 of the preceding year.
GSM subscribers took the lions share again with 9,174,209 lines as opposed to 1,027,519 subscriber base recorded by fixed subscribers.
In 2005, subscriber lines and teledensity ratio doubled to 19,519,154 and 15.72. with GSM subscribers leading with 18, 295,896 lines against the fixed subscribers lines of 1,223,258.
In 2006, the trend continued with lines at 33,858,022 lines. Within the period, the GSM sector accounted for 32,184,861 lines while the fixed lines players recorded 1673,161 lines to bring the nation's teledensity to 24.18.
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In 2007, year, total connected lines grew astronomically to 57,687,544 with GSM subscribers leading with 54,413,874 and fixed lines recording just 824,741 while fixed wired /wireless recorded 2,449,019 subscribers making Nigeria's telecoms sector the fastest growing in Africa with a 29.98 teledensity ratio.
The consistent increases recorded in the sector despite challenges has been attributable to the sound regulatory environment that has encouraged competition in the sector through the licensing of new players. New players like Etisalat and Visafone have come in to join the likes of MTN, Globacom Celtel and Starcomms driving the dynamic growth being recorded in the industry. The Commercial launch of Etisalat expected in the next few weeks is expected to further increase the subscriber base fundamentally.
The telecommunications sector has brought in over 11.5 billon dollars into the nation and Nigeria has lived up to predictions recorded at the beginning of last year by overtaking South Africa as the largest telecoms market in Africa.
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