Latest data from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) shows that MTN has extended its lead in the sector as active mobile subscriptions in the country rose to 225.8 million in the month of January.
This is 3.66 million more mobile subscriptions than the 222.23 million subscriptions that were recorded in December 2022, representing a 1.7 per cent growth
That data shows that the growth was driven largely by MTN, which recorded the highest gain of 2.9 million subscriptions in the month. In total, the four GSM operators recorded a combined 3.8 million increase in subscriptions in January.
The NCC’s statistics show that MTN, which is the largest operator by subscriber base, gained 2.9 million new subscriptions in Jaunary. This brought its total active customer database to 91.9 from the 89 million it recorded in January 2022.
Airtel added 497, 863 subscriptions in the month under review, which helped the telecom company to displace Glo from the second position in terms of subscription base. The teleco’s active customer database rose to 60.5 million at the end of January from 60 million it recorded in December 2022.
Glo also recorded 44,522 increase in subscriptions in the month but relinquished its position as the second largest operator to airtel. The new activations on the network brought Glo’s total subscriptions to 60.3 million from 60.29 million it recorded in December 2022.
9mobile recorded subscriptions increase in the month as its database grew by 178,879. This brought its total active subscriptions to 12.9 million in December 2022.