TECHDIGEST – Internet usage has grown in Nigeria as mobile Internet subscriptions hit 159.04 million in May 2023, according to data obtained from the Nigerian Communications Commission.

This was a 6.18 per cent year-on-year increase in the number of mobile Internet subscriptions from the 149.78 million subscriptions recorded in May 2022.

During the period under review, MTN had the highest mobile Internet subscriptions with 67.97 million, Globacom had 43.70 million, Airtel had 43.25 million, and 9mobile had 4.12 million.

Internet usage in Nigeria has witnessed tremendous growth over the years, with broadband penetration growing from 20.01 per cent as of May 2017 to 48.28 per cent in May this year.

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The growth in Internet usage is being fuelled by an increase in smartphone penetration in the country.

According to GSMA, there has been sustained growth in connectivity in the country. By the end of 2021, 40 per cent of adults over the age of 18 were using the mobile Internet.

Commenting on the development, the global telco association, said, “As the primary way most people access the internet in Sub-Saharan Africa, mobile is driving digital inclusion.

“This delivers significant economic benefits, reduces poverty, and transforms lives by providing people with access to a range of life-enhancing services. By the end of 2021, around 40 per cent of the adult population in Sub-Saharan Africa subscribed to mobile internet services.

“Although this figure is a marked increase from the 35 per cent at the start of the pandemic, it still lags behind the global average of 70 per cent by a considerable margin.”

Affirming the usefulness of mobile phones to Nigerians, the Chief Marketing Officer of MTN Nigeria, Adia Sowho, recently stated that smartphones had become the computer for many Nigerians today.

However, she added, “Unfortunately, the high costs of these devices have made them out of reach for many. Factors such as forex fluctuation, chipset shortages, and inflation are continuously driving up the cost of phones.”

The growth in the youth population is expected to continue to drive connectivity (Internet penetration) in Nigeria.

Also, the increase in Internet usage has been linked to the growth in smartphone ownership and a surge in the average data volume per subscription, according to Ericsson.

5G has been predicted as the next frontier for Internet usage.

Ericsson said, “5G is forecast to have the fastest growth rate in subscriptions, attributed primarily to coming from a low base. More than 10 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa have launched commercial 5G networks to date, with more planned, raising the forecast for 5G subscriptions to 13 per cent of the total subscription base in 2028.”

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TECHDIGEST – Lagos, Ogun, Kano, Oyo, and the Federal Capital Territory were the top five states with mobile Internet subscriptions in Nigeria in 2022.

Collectively, the five states accounted for 33.52 per cent (51.90 million) of the total number of mobile subscriptions (154.85 million) in the country in 2022, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics.

Bayelsa, Ebonyi, Ekiti, Zamfara, and Gombe states were the least five states, collectively contributing 4.91 per cent (7.61 million) to the mobile subscription population of the country.

Commenting in its ‘Telecoms Data: Active Voice and Internet, Porting and Tariff Information: (Q4 2022),’ report, the NBS said, “In addition, Lagos state had the highest number of active internet subscribers in Q4 2022 with 18,702,394, followed by Ogun with 9,206,614 and Kano with 8,470,131.

“On the other hand, Bayelsa recorded the least with 1,101,002, followed by Ebonyi and Ekiti with 1,264,825 and 1,474,970, respectively.”

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Mobile Internet is the major gateway to the Internet for many Nigerians and according to GSMA, the global association for telcos, as “the primary way most people access the internet in Sub-Saharan Africa, mobile is driving digital inclusion”.

The breakdown of the data from the NBS revealed that there were 1.10 million mobile subscriptions in Bayelsa in 2022, 1.27 million in Ebonyi, 1.48 million in Ekiti, 1.84 million in Zamfara, 1.92 million in Gombe, 1.95 million in Yobe, 2 million in Jigawa, 2.04 million in Cross River, 2.24 million in Kebbi, 2.27 million in Taraba, 2.28 million in Sokoto, 2.71 million in Akwa Ibom, 2.74 million in Abia.

Despite the insecurity challenges that have plagued Borno in recent times, it had 2.82 million mobile subscriptions in 2022. Adamawa had 2.89 million; Plateau had 3.14million; Enugu had 3.14 million; Bauchi had 3.15 million; Nasarawa had 3.22 million; Imo had 3.27 million; Kogi had 3.29 million; Ondo had 3.52 million; Kwara had 3.61 million; Osun (3.72 million); and Benue (3.91 million).

The remaining states had more than four million mobile subscriptions in 2022, Anambra (4.21 million), Katsina (4.24 million), Niger (5.09 million), Rivers (5.47 million), Edo (5.53 million), Delta (5.66 million), Kaduna (7.05 million), FCT (7.36 million), Oyo (8.17 million), Kano (8.47 million), Ogun (9.21 million), and Lagos (18.70 million).

In the time under review, mobile Internet subscriptions grew by 8.94 per cent from 141.62 million as of December 2021. Broadband penetration also rose to 47.36 per cent in 2022.

The growth of mobile Internet subscriptions has translated to increased digital inclusion for many Nigerians, and the continued growth of the digital economy.

As the chief marketing officer of MTN Nigeria, Adia Sowho, puts it, “Smartphones have become the computer for many Nigerians today.”

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TECHDIGEST – The number of mobile Internet subscriptions grew by 12.17 million to 152.15 million in October, the latest data from the Nigerian Communications Commission have revealed.

This was an 8.69 per cent growth from the 139.98 million mobile Internet subscriptions from October 2021.

In the time under review, the growth recorded was influenced by MTN which recorded the highest increase of 10.61 per cent from 58.32 million in October 2021 to 64.51 million, followed by Globacom which grew by 8.83 per cent from 38.97 million to 42.41 million. Airtel’s mobile Internet subscriptions also rose by 8.76% from 36.89 million to 40.12 million during this period.

Meanwhile, 9mobile slowed down the mobile Internet subscription growth, decreasing from 5.80 million in 2021 to 5.11 million in the same period this year..

Broadband penetration also improved from 39.89 per cent in October 2021 to 45.55 per cent in October 2022.

Recently, industry experts predicted that data revenues would outpace voice revenue in the not-too-distant future.

Speaking on the growth of data in his firm’s third-quarter results, the MTN Nigeria Chief Executive Officer, Karl Toriola, said, “Data revenue rose by 49.1 per cent on increased subscribers and data usage. This was sustained by an aggressive 4G network expansion and enhanced quality and capacity of our network to support rising data traffic as we continue to drive the conversion of existing subscribers on the 3G network to 4G and drive smartphone penetration.

“As a result, data traffic grew by 70.6 per cent YoY, with 4G accounting for 78.6 per cent of overall traffic, while data usage (MB per user) rose by 52.2 per cent. In addition, the number of smartphones on our network continues to increase, with the addition of about 4.4 million in the nine months, bringing smartphone penetration to 52.0 per cent.”

In its ‘The Mobile Economy Sub-Saharan Africa 2022,’ GSMA, the global association for telcos, disclosed that most people in Nigeria and Africa accessed the Internet through their phones.

It said, “As the primary way most people access the internet in Sub-Saharan Africa, mobile is driving digital inclusion. This delivers significant economic benefits, reduces poverty, and transforms lives by providing people with access to a range of life-enhancing services.

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“By the end of 2021, around 40 per cent of the adult population in Sub-Saharan Africa subscribed to mobile internet services. Although this figure is a marked increase from the 35 per cent at the start of the pandemic, it still lags behind the global average of 70 per cent by a considerable margin.”

It further stated that in 2021, mobile technologies and services generated around eight per cent of GDP across Sub-Saharan Africa, a contribution that amounted to almost $140bn of economic value added.

“The mobile ecosystem also supported more than 3.2 million jobs (directly and indirectly) and made a substantial contribution to the funding of the public sector, with $16bn raised through taxes on the sector.

“By 2025, mobile’s contribution will grow by approximately $16bn (to almost $155bn), as the countries in the region increasingly benefit from the improvements in productivity and efficiency brought about by the increased take-up of mobile services.”

According to the association, while a considerable percentage of individuals in Sub-Saharan Africa currently use mobile internet services, another 44 per cent live in areas covered by mobile broadband networks but do not yet use mobile internet services.

It stated that addressing these usage gaps remains a major barrier to mobile internet adoption. It explained that these barriers include affordability and lack of digital skills.

It added, “Mobile connectivity has the potential to accelerate Sub-Saharan Africa’s digital transformation and drive socioeconomic advancement, but realising this potential requires policy measures to support network investments and improve the affordability of digital services for consumers.”

Recently, Chief Marketing Officer, MTN Nigeria, Adia Sowho, said, “Smartphones have become the computer for many Nigerians today.

“Unfortunately, the high costs of these devices have made them out of reach for many. Factors such as forex fluctuation, chipset shortages, and inflation are continuously driving up the cost of phones.”

According to the World Bank, Nigeria has the largest mobile market in Sub-Saharan Africa and a 10 per cent increase in mobile broadband penetration could lead to a 2.46 per cent growth in Africa.

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