Nigeria’s internet consumption declined in September 2024, marking the first drop since February 2024. This was according to the latest industry statistics report by the Nigerian Communications Commission. Data usage fell to 850,249.09 terabytes in September, a slight 0.82 per cent drop from the 853,954.05 terabytes recorded in August. This drop coincided with a decrease in subscriber base in the country in September. The decline in subscriptions across telecom operators has been largely attributed to the recent verification of National Identification Numbers linked with SIM cards As a result, the four major operators – MTN, Airtel, Globacom, and 9mobile – deactivated a total of 64.3 million lines. The NCC report revealed that the verification exercise, which concluded on 14 September, had a significant impact on Globacom and 9mobile in particular. Globacom, which had 62.1 million active subscriptions in March, ended September with only 19.1 million subscribers, shedding a massive 43 million lines. Similarly, 9mobile saw its subscription base drop from 11.6 million in March to 3.6 million by September, a loss of about 8 million subscribers. The industry now has 154.6 million active subscriptions as of September 2024, down from the 219 million reported in March.

Punch