Nigeria’s mobile subscription base rose to 157.3 million in October 2024, up from 154.6 million in September, marking a recovery after months of decline. This growth was primarily driven by MTN and Airtel, which recorded significant increases in their subscriber bases during the period.
The rebound follows an extensive audit by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and the implementation of the NIN-SIM linkage exercise, which had reduced the country’s subscription database by 64.3 million lines between March and September.
With the rise in actively connected lines, Nigeria’s teledensity—reflecting the number of active telephone connections per 100 inhabitants—also increased to 72.7% from 71.46% in September, based on a population estimate of 216 million.
MTN, the largest operator by subscriber count, added 2.2 million subscriptions in October, bringing its total active subscriptions to 80.3 million and securing a 51.09% market share. Airtel followed with a gain of 697,430 new subscriptions, increasing its database to 54.4 million and achieving a 31.61% market share.
Conversely, Globacom and 9mobile experienced declines. Globacom recorded a loss of 44,635 subscriptions, ending October with 19.1 million active lines and a 12.15% market share. Meanwhile, 9mobile lost 245,263 subscriptions, reducing its database to 3.3 million and leaving it with a 2.15% market share.
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