Active Internet Subscribers Hit 159.03m – NCC

The Executive Vice Chairman of Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta says the number of active mobile subscriptions reached 220,715,961 million as at August 2023. Danbatta also said the number of active Internet subscribers was 159,034,717 million with broadband penetration at 45.57 per cent as at August, 2023. Danbatta stated this at the ‘NCC Day’ during the 18th Abuja International Trade fair organised by the Abuja chamber of commerce and industry on Thursday in Abuja. Represented by the Director, Consumer Affairs, Mr Umar Alkasim, the EVC said growth in the telecom sector has been remarkable. “The steady growth of the telecoms sector over the years with its pervasive positive impact on all other sectors of the economy in terms of increased automation of processes and digital transformation in service delivery has been remarkable. “This, however, would not have been possible without you, telecoms consumers who are using the services daily. “ He said in order to sustain the growth, “the NCC has over the years created a conducive environment that stimulates deployment of robust telecoms and broadband infrastructure for improving the quality of service (QoS) and quality of experience (QoE) for telecoms consumers, be it individuals or corporates.  “This is because, as a country, we need robust telecoms infrastructure that will help our industries transit to becoming Information and Communication Technology (ICT)-driven if we hope to be digitally competitive on the global stage.  “ The NCC boss said the Commission is working assiduously with various stakeholders including the consumers, to see how more businesses can embrace digital platforms for delivering their services to the consumer.  “As a regulator, we also ensure we constantly inform you, the consumers on how to be protected to prevent cases of online fraud or avoid consumers falling victim to cybercrime antics while in their legitimate use of the Internet,” he said.  He said the NCC will continue to provide a level-playing ground for operators to thrive, promote investment and delivery of innovative services to individual consumers and business owners by ensuring enhanced consumer quality of experience.

Telecoms Investment Jumps From $38bn To $77bn, Says NCC

Prof. Umar Danbatta, the Executive Vice-Chairman, Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC), says telecoms investment inflow grew from $38 billion to $77 billion by the second quarter of 2023. Danbatta, who spoke in Kano on Saturday at a media parley, revealed that the sector had contributed 16 per cent to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) within the period under review. He said that the statistics by the NCC was based on the computation by the Nigeria Bureau of Statistics (NBS). He said: “From about eight per cent contribution to GDP in 2015, when I came on board as the EVC of NCC, quarterly GDP has increased significantly to reach its current threshold of 16 per cent. “And this has continued to positively impact all aspects of the economy.” Danbatta, however, attributed the success to “thorough sustained regulatory excellence and operational efficiency by the Commission”, adding that the industry has grown in leaps and bounds over the past two decades. “We have witnessed explosive growth, improved regulatory standard, digital innovation that have generated global recognition,” he said. He said that telephone users in Nigeria had hit 218.9 million, internet subscribers 159.5 million, while broadband users in the country now are 88.7 million within the period under review. Danbatta listed issue of Right of Way (RoW), fibre cuts, high capital requirement for deployment, multiple taxations and regulations, among other frustrations, constituting barriers to broadband deployment in the country. The EVC, however, assured that the NCC would “navigate regulatory complexities, digital divide and literacy to tackle the challenges”. He said that the commission would establish an emergency communication centre in each of the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. Danbatta said establishing the centres was necessary, so as to bridge the gap between distressed and emergency response agencies in the country. He explained that the commission had increased the amount of research grants being given to universities from N20 million to N30 million. He said that three universities had benefitted from the new grant, so far. “NCC as a regulator is mindful of the fact that telecom is an enabler and catalyst for economic advancement of the country. “It has consistently made available, affordable and accessible telecoms service to check certain telecoms barriers,” he said. Danbatta added that the task of the commission as a regulatory agency in the development of the telecommunications sector was to ensure best practices. He said that this was in view of the fact that NCC was one of the sectors that had contributed to the enhanced growth of the Nigerian economy. The vice-chairman pointed out that other major challenges confronting the commission included wilful destruction of its facilities and the number of taxes imposed on telecommunication companies. “The challenges being faced by the commission include 41 categories of taxes imposed on telecommunications companies and wilful destruction of our facilities,” he said. He said that the commission would continue to engage stakeholders in the media industry in order to keep members of the public abreast of its activities.

Telcos rake in N3.33trn revenue from data, other services —NCC

MTN Nigeria, Airtel, Glo, and other telecom operators made a whopping N3.33 trillion as revenue from calls, data, SMS, and other telecom services in 2022, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has said in its 2022 Subscriber/Network Data Annual Report. According to the commission, the total number of active subscribers increased from 195,463,898 subscriptions in 2021 to 222,571,568 active voice subscriptions as of December 2022, a 13.86 percent year-on-year increase. “The increase in the Operators’ subscriber base was attributed to a number of reasons which includes subscriber loyalty, promos, seasonal effects, aggressive consumer acquisition drive, and competitive product offerings across all the networks,” the commission said. It noted that the growth in active subscriptions impacted positively on other derived telecom indicators such as teledensity, Internet penetration as well as broadband penetration. Data usage also continued its surge in 2022. It increased by 46.77 per cent to 518,381.78TB as of the end of the year. The NCC stated, “There was an increase in the volume of data consumed at the year-end December 2022 when compared with the year-end December 2021. The total volume of data consumed by subscribers increased to 518,381.78TB as of December 2022 from 353,118.89TB as of December 2021, representing an increase of 46.77 per cent in data consumption within the period,” the report said.