Glo mobile, the mobile business unit of Nigeria’s second national operator, Globacom Limited, has been hit by an unprecedented loss of over 43 million subscribers representing a quantum 69.20% of its customer base, according to official telecoms market information for Q3 2024 reviewed by Technology Times.
The official data just released by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) showed that Glo mobile was the most impacted among competing mobile network operators (MNOs) that recorded varying degrees of subscriber losses that has seen the nation’s telecoms market subscriber base drop from 219,304,281 (101.16%) In Q1 2024 to 154,904,827 (71.46) by Q3 2024.
“The removal of Subscriber Identification Modules (SIMs) that are not linked to verifiable National Identification Numbers (NINs) and the rectification of a major discrepancy by a Mobile Network Operator explain the significant drop in Nigeria’s telecoms subscriber base,” according to the Abuja-based telecoms watchdog, NCC.
“The removal of Subscriber Identification Modules (SIMs) that are not linked to verifiable National Identification Numbers (NINs) and the rectification of a major discrepancy by a Mobile Network Operator explain the significant drop in Nigeria’s telecoms subscriber base,” according to the Abuja-based telecoms watchdog, NCC.
Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) .
Analysis of the industry-wide subscriber erosion between Q2 2024 and Q3 2024 showed that the Nigerian telecoms market lost 44,833,204 subscriber lines, representing 26.00% of the overall month-on-month losses recorded by the affected telecoms companies.
An official source confirmed to Technology Times anonymously that the telecoms watchdog had carried out an enforcement action against an unnamed mobile network operator (MNO) that was discovered to have allegedly inflated subscriber figures in excess of over 40 million lines.
The withdrawal of these inflated numbers from the national telecoms database by NCC and its accompanying statement that “the rectification of a major discrepancy by a Mobile Network Operator explain the significant drop in Nigeria’s telecoms subscriber base” caused the sudden dip in subscriber base from 216,974,742 to 172,141,538 lines that was recorded between April and May 2024.
The loss of a whopping 64,399,454 lines among the affected telecoms companies representing approximately 29.37% in subscriber numbers between Q2 2024 and Q4 2024, represents the biggest numbers dip suffered by the Nigerian telecoms market since the arrival of the big GSM networks some 23 years ago, when MTN Nigeria and Econet Wireless (now Airtel Nigeria) launched commercial service in August 2001.
The month of May 2024 experienced the largest drop of 20.66% of subscriber lines, followed by smaller percentage decreases each month through to September 2024 in the analysis of the difference between Q2 2024 and Q3 2024.
| Q2 2024 vs Q3 2024: HOW THE NIGERIAN TELECOMS MARKET NUMBERS COMPARED | |||
| MONTH | SUBSCRIBER LINES | MONTH-ON-MONTH DIFFERENCE | PERCENTAGE CHANGE (%) |
| March 2024 | 219,304,281 | – | – |
| April 2024 | 216,974,742 | -2,329,539 | −1.06 |
| May 2024 | 172,141,538 | −44,833,204 | −20.66% |
| June 2024 | 170,904,257 | −1,237,281 | −0.72% |
| July 2024 | 166,656,227 | −4,248,030 | −2.49% |
| August 2024 | 159,503,865 | −7,152,362 | −4.29% |
| September 2024 | 154,904,827 | −4,599,038 | −2.88% |
Editor’s Note: Please check back shortly for updated version of this developing story.
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