Nigeria’s commercial capital, Lagos state has recorded the highest number of active phone and internet subscriptions in the nation’s telecoms sector for the first quarter (Q1) of 2024, according to latest data by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
According to data collected by NBS, there has been a decline in Nigeria’s active voice subscribers by 2.41% in Q1 2024, with a total of 219,304,281 subscribers compared to 226,161,713 in Q1 2023. Conversely, active internet subscribers saw an increase of 0.32% in Q1 2024, totaling 164,368,292 compared to 157,551,104 in Q1 2023.
In terms of state profile analysis, Lagos State had the highest number of active voice subscribers in Q1 2024, with 25,956,074 subscribers, followed by Ogun with 12,672,990 and Kano with 11,931,128. On the other hand, Bayelsa had the lowest number of active voice subscribers with 1,608,473, followed by Ebonyi and Ekiti with 1,885,657 and 1,969,568 respectively.
For active internet subscribers in Q1 2024, Lagos State also led with 18,841,943 subscribers, followed by Ogun with 9,528,795 and Kano with 9,067,983. Conversely, Bayelsa had the lowest number of active internet subscribers with 1,201,601, followed by Ebonyi and Ekiti with 1,401,626 and 1,545,729 respectively.
In the terms of mobile network providers analysis, MTN emerged as the leader with the highest number of subscribers in Q1 2024. With a total of 81,799,666 voice subscribers and 69,386,959 internet subscribers, MTN maintained its position at the top. Following behind was Airtel, with 63,357,061 voice subscribers and 46,819,616 internet subscribers.
Glo secured the third spot with 62,191,448 voice subscribers and 44,380,117 internet subscribers. Bringing up the rear was 9mobile, with 11,657,703 voice subscribers and 3,308,493 internet subscribers.
Other smaller operators like IPNX, 21st Century, SMILE, and Ntel contributed to the overall total of 219,304,281 voice subscribers and 164,368,292 internet subscribers.
In terms of network porting activities, MTN had the highest number of ported-in customers with 1,296, followed by Airtel with 343, Glo with 210, and 9mobile with 62. On the other hand, for ported-out customers, 9mobile had 333, Glo had 269, Airtel had 173, and MTN had 136.
Under the leadership of Adeniran Adeyemi, the Statistician General of the Federation and Chief Executive Officer, NBS is responsible for coordinating statistical operations of the National Statistical System to produce official statistics across Federal Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), State Statistical Agencies (SSAs), and Local Government Councils (LGCs) in Nigeria.