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Nigeria’s broadband penetration, teledensity dip

Nigerian’s broadband penetration and teledensity have dropped while the country witnessed a steady increase in active voice and internet subscriptions, a new document released by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday has shown.

According to the NCC data which have been adjusted to reflect the latest population growth figures and align with international best practices reflected in the telecom industry statistical reports of September, October and November 2023 published on the Commission’s website, was predicated upon the Nigerian Population Commission (NPC)’s projection of Nigeria’s population at 216,783,381, as of 2022, replacing the previously used 2017 projection of 190 million people.

With the adjustment in line with the International Telecommunication Union (ITU’s) calculation of teledensity, the nation’s teledensity dropped from 115.63per cent to 102.30per cent in September, while broadband penetration witnessed a similar drop from 45.47per cent to 40.85per cent in the same month. However, the active voice subscription statistics witnessed a marginal growth from 220,361,186 to 221,769,883 as of September 2023. In addition, internet subscriptions also enjoyed a marginal growth, from 159,034,717 in August 2023 to 160,171,757 in September 2023.

Teledensity is an index prescribed by the ITU for the measurement of telephone penetration in a population by a factor of one line per 100 individuals in the population.

In October 2023 the industry also experienced a 0.19per cent growth in Active Voice subscriptions while teledensity stood at 102.49 per cent with Internet subscriptions increasing by 0.60per cent compared to September 2023.

In November of the same year, the industry also experienced a 0.46per cent growth in Active Voice subscriptions. Teledensity stood at 102.97per cent with a 0.57per cent increase in internet subscriptions when compared to October 2023.

The adjustment by the Commission is consistent with Section 89 Subsection 3(d) of the Nigerian Communications Act 2003 (NCA 2003), in which the Commission is mandated to monitor and report on the state of the Nigerian telecommunications industry, provide statistical analysis and identify industry trends concerning services, tariffs, operators, technology, subscribers, and issues of competition.

Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Dr. Aminu Maida, affirmed the nation’s telecom statistical adjustment process as an appropriate step to maintain the integrity of data about the Nigerian telecom industry as collected, collated, and published by the Commission. He noted that this will also ensure the accurate measurement of the Commission’s progress towards attaining increased broadband penetration rates, improved quality of service, and increased population coverage, among other targets set out in the Strategic Plan for the Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy.

He also said such data provides information for both  the ITU to which Nigeria belongs, and other development agencies as well as the operators, investors, multilateral agencies, and the public.