NCC Reports 1.4m Increase In Nigeria’s Internet Subscribers In September

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has announced that the country’s internet subscribers rose to 132.40 million in September 2024, marking an increase of 1.45 million from the 130.94 million recorded in August.
In its industry report published on Monday, the NCC highlighted that major telecom operators, including MTN, Airtel, and Glo, experienced growth in internet subscriptions, while 9mobile saw a decline.
MTN led the increase, adding 866,406 subscribers to reach 68.39 million in September, up from 67.52 million in August. Airtel followed with a gain of 593,458, bringing its total to 44.79 million, up from 44.20 million the previous month. Globacom also reported an increase, adding 206,391 subscribers to raise its total from 16.71 million in August to 16.92 million in September.
In contrast, 9mobile’s internet subscribers decreased from 2.49 million to 2.29 million, a drop of 206,364.
The report further noted that the total number of telephony subscribers in the industry decreased from 159.2 million in August to 154.6 million in September—a decline of 4.6 million. MTN accounted for 78.09 million of these telephony subscribers in September, down from 80.13 million in August, indicating a decrease of 2 million. Airtel’s voice subscribers increased by 701,676, reaching 53.74 million, while Globacom’s telephony base declined by 2.26 million to 19.95 million. 9mobile also experienced a significant drop in voice subscribers, falling from 4.65 million to 3.63 million—a decrease of 1.01 million.
Additionally, the NCC reported a decline in broadband penetration, which fell from 43.16 per -cent in August to 41.56 per cent in September. This figure represents the number of subscriptions to fixed and mobile broadband services relative to the country’s population.
Data usage in the country also saw a slight decrease, dropping to 850,249.09 terabytes in September, down by 0.43 per cent from the 853,954.05 terabytes recorded in August.