For a record second time, telecommunication giant, MTN has lost a total of 667,245 internet subscribers in just one month while close rival, Airtel recorded the highest number of subscribers according to the latest data released by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) recently.
According to data obtained from the NCC, MTN’s total internet subscribers stood at 52.2 million in July 2019 while the number dropped to 51.6 million in August. It should, however, be noted that this is the second time MTN Nigeria would lose internet subscribers in about a year.
It could be recalled that MTN lost 178,103 internet subscribers in June as data concerns rise while Airtel, however, continued to grow its subscriber’s base.
The NCC report shows five major GSM internet subscribers in the country which include Airtel, 9mobile, Globacom, MTN and Visafone. As at the end of August 2019, the total internet subscribers dropped to 122.5 million, from 122.6 million internet subscribers. This means the total internet subscribers dropped by less than 100,000
However, despite the drop in internet subscribers, MTN remains the network with the highest subscribers with 42% of the total market share.
READ ALSO: South Africa Fines MTN over Regulatory Breach
On the other hand, Airtel Nigeria maintains a position as the internet provider with the second-largest subscribers estimated at 32.7 million or 27% of total industry subscribers.
In August, Airtel gained 350,134 internet subscribers, the only internet service subscribers that recorded a positive growth alongside Visafone with 83,482 internet subscribers.
It should be noted that 9mobile has continued to lose subscribers for the past 2 years. Hence, in August, 9mobile lost another 176,575 internet subscribers.
In terms of the total industry Market share, Airtel has finally edged out Glo from the second position in terms of overall market share. Glo had maintained the second position in terms of the total subscribers until recent times.
MTN maintains the biggest market share as competition heightens. While MTN formerly had 40% of the market share, current statistics show MTN now controls 37.2% estimated to 65.7 million subscribers.
Moreover, Airtel has finally breezed past Globacom in both internet subscribers and total subscribers.
According to the NCC August report, Airtel controls 27.13% (47.9 million) of the total market share, Globacom with 26.76% (47.2 million) market share while 9mobile market share still remains at 9% (15.6 million).
Development in recent times suggest that the drop in internet subscribers in some major telecom service provider may be traceable to poor concerns over the poor internet connection. Also, Nigerians have also expressed concerns over the speed at which internet data bundles burn very quickly.
READ ALSO: Airtel Overtakes Globacom to become Nigeria’s Second Largest Network
While the recent Xenophobic attacks in South Africa may have hugely affected MTN’s industry stat in Nigeria, the drop in MTN’s total internet subscribers may partly also be connected to recent claims by customers that the data bundles exhaust fast.
Samson Oyedeyi
