The number of connected mobile lines in Nigeria is now over 300 million as at October 2022. These lines cut across the mobile networks of MTN, Globacom, Airtel, and 9mobile. This was disclosed in the latest subscriber data released by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).
NCC also revealed that only 244.3 million of these lines were in active use. This means that a total of 104.9 million lines on the networks have become inactive.
More Details On The Inactive Mobile Lines
It is said that a mobile line is said to be inactive if it is not used by the subscriber to make or receive calls or access data services within 90 days.
The inactive lines are then separated from the active lines as they generate no revenue for telecom operators within the stated period.
Although the inactive lines across the mobile networks are still high, the figure has reduced significantly over the last year. As of last year August, the inactive lines were about 139 million.
Why Inactive Mobile Lines
Telecom operators have always had inactive lines alongside the increase in active users and new activations. However, the ban contributed to the new SIM registration, and the inability of many subscribers to retrieve their lines between December 2020 and April 2021 made the situation worse.
Meanwhile, the gradual reduction in the number of inactive lines is also a result of a new SIM policy introduced by the NCC. Recall that the NCC declared that subscribers whose lines have been inactive for 12 months would forfeit them.
“Subscriber numbers that have not been generated revenue by originating calls will automatically be recovered after 12 consecutive months,” NCC has stated in the new policy document.
The Telcos Market Value
MTN accounts for 38.85%, with Globacom maintaining its second position with a market value of 27.82%. Airtel’s market value weighed at 27.37% as of October, with 58.6 million active subscriptions.
Lastly, 9mobile had only a 5.96% share of the mobile market with 12.7 million subscriptions.
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