March 04, (THEWILL) – The Executive Vice-Chairman, Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC), Prof. Umar Danbatta, says there are at least 195.4 million phone subscribers in the country as of December 2021.
Speaking at the ongoing 43rd Kaduna International Trade Fair in Kaduna, Dambatta explained that 141 million are for Internet subscribers, while 40.88 percent have a broadband connection, while the nation’s social media space has continued to thrive.
THEWILL recalls that as of November, 2021, telecom subscribers were 193.18 million according to a data released by the commision.
But Dambatta revealed that the numbers grew by 2.27 million between November and December.
In January 2021, the country had 200.2 million telephone users, the commission revealed in its industrial statistics for December.
Nigeria’s internet users also fell to 141.6 million by December compared to the 150.89 million recorded in January 2021.
Broadband penetration fell from 81.95 million (42.93 percent) in January 2021 to 78.04 million 40.88 percent by December 2021.
Danbatta said, “Telecommunications sector has been a strategic driver of the digital economy agenda of the Federal Government, as it continues to provide the needed digital sinews that support the economy, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic and its attendant restriction period.
“In Nigeria, the number of active mobile subscriptions reached 195.4 million in December 2021 with Internet subscribers exceeding 141 million and broadband penetration 40.88 percent.
“In this new environment, the competitiveness of Nigeria, for instance, depends on the ability to leverage new technologies. Hence, areas where NCC’s regulatory efforts in deepening access to digital services will benefit Nigeria and make it competitively comparable to other economy, include direct job creation; contribution to Gross Domestic Product growth; the emergence of new services and industries; workforce transformation; and business innovation.
“It is in our response to ensuring that Nigeria is competitive in all these areas that the Commission continuously puts a number of regulatory measures in place to ensure seamless access by Nigerians to telecommunications services in order to deepen competitiveness of the Nigerian economy.”
He reiterated that the commission was set for the deployment of the fifth-generation network in the country.
He said, “As you may be aware, the NCC is on the verge of deployment of the Fifth Generation (5G) network in Nigeria. Already, spectrum licences for the companies that will roll out services have been issued.
“Though the deployment will start from the state capitals and gradually extends to other areas across the state, it is important to state that, unlike 1G, 2G, 3G and 4G, the 5G network will bring substantial network improvements, including higher connection speed, mobility and capacity, as well as low-latency capabilities to communications services in Nigeria.”
