Nigeria’s telecommunications sector has witnessed a significant decline in subscriptions following the conclusion of the National Identification Numbers (NINs) verification exercise linked with mobile SIMs. The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) reports that the country’s four major operators – MTN, Airtel, Globacom, and 9mobile – collectively lost 64.3 million lines.
According to the NCC’s latest data, Globacom and 9mobile bore the brunt of the losses, shedding 43 million and 8 million subscriptions, respectively. As of September, Globacom’s active subscriptions plummeted to 19.1 million from 62.1 million in March, while 9mobile’s subscriptions dropped to 3.6 million from 11.6 million.
Market leaders MTN and Airtel also experienced declines, losing 3.7 million and 9.6 million subscriptions, respectively. MTN maintained its market lead with 78 million active subscriptions, while Airtel retained its second position with 53.7 million subscriptions.
Airtel Africa warned of potential revenue losses of up to $4 million monthly due to unverified NINs. MTN Nigeria had earlier disconnected 4.2 million unlinked lines, citing minimal revenue impact due to the affected customers being ‘low-value
Industry experts view the verification exercise as a positive development, noting that the sanitized database will promote decent use of telecommunication services and aid security efforts.
“The huge decline in operators’ database means the system has been thoroughly sanitized,” said telecom expert Adewale Adeoye. “Every Nigerian on the telecom network is now properly identified.”
NCC’s Executive Vice Chairman, Dr. Aminu Maida, confirmed that all mobile lines in use are now linked with verified NINs, enabling authorities to associate phone numbers with verified identities.
Key Statistics:
– 4.3 million subscriptions lost across four major operators
– Globacom: 43 million subscriptions lost (62.1 million to 19.1 million)
– 9mobile: 8 million subscriptions lost (11.6 million to 3.6 million)
– MTN: 3.7 million subscriptions lost (81.7 million to 78 million)
– Airtel: 9.6 million subscriptions lost (63.3 million to 53.7 million)