This is as the commission adjusted its statistical indicators to reflect new population growth figures and align with international best practices.
It stated that the adjustment which is reflected in the telecom industry statistical reports of September, October, and November 2023 is based on the Nigerian Population Commission projection of Nigeria’s population at 216,783,381, as of 2022, replacing the previously used 2017 projection of 190 million people.
According to the NCC, teledensity, which is the measurement of telephone penetration, fell to 102.97 per cent in November 2023, from 115.63 per cent as of August 2023.
In a statement signed by Director, Public Affairs, Reuben Muoka, the commission said, “With the consequential adjustment, which is in line with the International Telecommunication Union’s calculation of teledensity, the nation’s teledensity dropped from 115.63 per cent to 102.30 per cent in September, while Broadband penetration witnessed a similar drop from 45.47 per cent to 40.85 per 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.”
The NCC defined “teledensity as 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.”
It noted that the adjustment is consistent with Section 89 Subsection 3(d) of the Nigerian Communications Act 2003 (NCA 2003), in which it 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.
According to the Executive Vice Chairman of the NCC, Dr Aminu Maida, the country’s telecom statistical adjustment process is an appropriate step to maintain the integrity of data in the telecom industry,
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 others.
Before releasing its statement on Tuesday night, the NCC had failed to publish industry statistics since September 2023. It has clarified that this is because it was changing its methodology.
In another related news, the Chief Executive Officer, MTN Nigeria, Karl Toriola, has said the cost of phones is slowing down digital inclusion in the country.
The CEO, while speaking on Arise TV’s ‘Tech into the Future,’ programme said, “5G has been instrumental towards servicing digitisation; a lot of people are shifting their consumption from traditional voice and circuit switch services to data services and probably the biggest barrier to that is actually the cost of handsets.”
He noted that 5G coverage has now quadrupled in the country. To make smartphones more affordable in the country, Toriola suggested that local assembling could reduce production costs and eliminate customs duties.
He also touched on financing solutions while stressing the importance of aggregate credit scoring history for citizens to finance their mobile devices.
He stated, “There’s quite a number of companies in Africa that are working on that in partnership with us, and while it may take a bit of time for that momentum to be built, our mobile money PSB – MoMo will enable us predict behavioural patterns and credit worthiness.”
He added that the firm is actively, “working with the Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr Bosun Tijani, and regulatory authorities to address the issue of device affordability and promote digital inclusion in Nigeria.”
Smartphone affordability continues to dominate conversations about digital inclusion in Nigeria. Recently, GSMA, the global association for telcos, revealed that taxes and duties contribute to a 10 to 30 percent increase in the cost of smartphones.
It noted that 68 per cent of Nigerians in rural areas do not own a smartphone, and only 58 per cent of Nigerians living in urban areas own one.
