Nigeria’s active mobile telephone users increased to 160 million in April, with internet users reaching 101.2 million in the same period, up from 100.6 million recorded in March.
Unfortunately, 9mobile and Globacom failed to partake in the growth as they reportedly lost a combined total of 471,782 of their internet mobile subscribers.
On the other hand, MTN and Airtel gained more internet subscribers in March and April, thereby stiffening the competition that already prevails.
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) made this known in its subscribers’ operator data which was released yesterday.
According to the NCC, the reported increase in the number of mobile telephone lines (a total of 160,081,051) marked a 107.5% increase, up from the 148,854,338 that was recorded in March.
There was no change in the active mobile lines on code division multiple access (CDMA) for April, comparable to March.
Here is a breakdown of how much internet subscribers each of the telcos gained or lost
MTN Nigeria gained the most internet subscribers in April having recorded an additional 718,803 new users; thereby increasing its total subscription to about 38.1 million. This is up from 37.4 million recorded in March.
Airtel took the lead behind MTN Nigeria, recording an additional 366,254 new users; thereby increasing its total subscription to about 25.8 million. This is up from 25.4 million recorded in March.
Globacom on the other hand, lost the most subscribers, with as much as 321,497 users leaving its network in April. This puts the company’s total number of subscribers at about 26.3 million, down from about 26.6 million in March.
Globacom is followed by embattled 9mobile which lost 150,285 internet users in April, with its total number of active subscribers reducing to about 10.8 million, down from 10.9 million recorded in March 2018.
Why are Globacom and 9mobile losing their subscribers?
There is one obvious reason why Nigerians are dumping Globacom and 9mobile as their mobile internet service providers – they are not getting value for their subscriptions.
In other words, MTN Nigeria and Airtel must be doing something differently to ensure value, retain their customers and even attract new ones, unlike Globacom and 9mobile.
Meanwhile, it is rather unsurprising that Globacom is losing its customers. Many Glo line users in the country are known to often complain about poor/slow network coverage among other hitches. A mere look at their Social Media platforms will show exactly how unsatisfied their customers really are.
Interestingly, the leading indigenous telco once tried a failed method which offered more data for less money in a bid to attract more subscribers. Unfortunately, it had to rollback on that following customers’ continued lack of satisfaction and possibly lack of profitability on Globacom’s side.
9mobile, on the other hand, is known for being very expensive. This could explain why its customers are abandoning it.
Without a doubt, both Globacom and 9mobile need to do more to take back their market shares and effectively compete with MTN Nigeria and Airtel.