According to the latest data from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), mobile subscriptions in Nigeria surged to 219.7 million in February 2024, driven by notable gains from leading operators MTN and Airtel. This rebound follows a loss of over 6 million subscriptions in January due to the implementation of the NIN-SIM directive.
In December 2023, active subscriptions across the four major mobile networks stood at 224.4 million but dropped to 218 million in January 2024.
In February, MTN gained 1.1 million new subscriptions, bringing its total to 80.9 million. Airtel also increased, adding 434,175 new subscriptions and pushing its database to 63 million. Globacom experienced a slight uptick with 176,756 new subscriptions, totalling 62.1 million.
However, 9mobile continued its decline, losing 151,517 subscriptions. Its February total was 13.6 million active subscriptions, down from 13.8 million in January.
Further disconnections are anticipated this month, potentially leading to decreased mobile subscriptions. The NCC directive issued in December requires all telecom operators to implement whole network barring on lines without submitting national identification numbers (NINs) by February 28, 2024. Lines with unverified NINs were to be barred by March 29, 2024, and those with fewer than five lines linked to unverified NINs by April 15, 2024.
This enforcement aligns with the government’s efforts to enhance security by curbing the misuse of multiple SIM cards for illicit activities.
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