Nigeria Telecom Sector Faces 2.4% Decline in Active Voice Subscriptions Amid NIN-SIM Linkage Policy Enforcement

The telecom sector in Nigeria saw a 2.4% decrease in active voice subscriptions during the first quarter of 2024, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). This decline, from 224,713,710 subscriptions in Q4 2023 to 219,304,281 in Q1 2024, marks a significant reduction of 5,409,429 active voice subscriptions.

The drop coincides with ongoing efforts by the Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC) and telecom operators to enforce the National Identification Number-Subscriber Identity Module (NIN-SIM) linkage policy. Year-on-year comparisons show a 3.03% decrease from 226,161,713 active subscriptions in Q1 2023.

Abia State experienced the largest decline at 7.8%, with total active subscriptions decreasing from 4,074,115 in Q1 2023 to 3,756,231 in Q1 2024. Lagos State leads with 18.84 million subscribers, followed closely by Ogun State at 9.53 million.

MTN retained its dominant position in the market with 81,799,666 active voice subscriptions, followed by Airtel with 63,357,061, and Glo with 62,191,448 subscriptions. EMTS (9mobile) and SMILE recorded 11,657,703 and 175,711 active voice subscriptions respectively.

The telecom regulator’s directive to implement full network bars on non-NIN linked phone lines by February 28, 2024, affected millions of subscribers. MTN Nigeria reported barring 8.6 million lines, while Airtel Nigeria disclosed that approximately 5.7 million subscribers had not linked their SIM cards to their NINs by the deadline.

This enforcement underscores ongoing efforts to enhance security and regulatory compliance within Nigeria’s telecommunications sector.