Data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) have revealed that mobile network operators (MNOs) exchanged 1,911 subscribers through mobile number porting (MNP) in the first quarter.
The NBS disclosed that MTN received 1,296 new users from other networks, while it lost 136 to competitors. Also, 343 subscribers ported to Airtel, while 173 left.
Globacom welcomed 210 users but lost 269 customers. Emerging Market Telecoms Service, which operates as 9mobile, lost 1,333 subscribers but received 62 new ones.
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) introduced MNP 2013, to give the telecoms consumer the freedom to be with the best network anytime and enhance competition in the industry.
The Guardian noted that the MNP in its 11th year may not have lived up to expectations as it failed to engender perfect competition and improved service delivery within the telecoms ecosystem. Perhaps, the multi-swimming nature of the local market, where virtually one subscriber uses all SIMs, contributed to its failure.
Further analysis of the NBS Q1 data showed that three states – Lagos, Ogun and Kano – accounted for 23 per cent of the country’s total active mobile subscriptions as of Q1.
According to the Bureau, total active mobile subscriptions in Nigeria at the end of the first quarter stood at 219.3 million, showing a 3.3 per cent decline from 226.1 million reported in Q1 2023.
The states were the top three highest number of mobile subscription states with a combined 50.5 million active mobile lines. The data showed that Lagos, known as the commercial nerve centre of the country, maintained the lead with 25.9 million active subscriptions, followed by Ogun with 12.6 million subscriptions while Kano came third with 11.9 million active subscriptions.
On the other hand, Bayelsa recorded the least mobile subscription with 1.6 million subscriptions followed by Ebonyi and Ekiti with 1.8 million and 1.9 million respectively.
In terms of Internet connections, Lagos State still came first with the highest number of active internet subscribers in Q1 2024 with 18.8 million followed by Ogun with 9.5 million, and Kano with 9 million.
Again, Bayelsa recorded the least internet connections with 1.2 million, followed by Ebonyi and Ekiti with 1.4 million and 1.5 respectively.
