Elon Musk’s internet company, Starlink, has emerged as Nigeria’s second-largest Internet Service Provider (ISP) by subscriber number as of Q3 2024.
This was revealed in the latest ISP data released by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).
According to the data, the company’s active customers in Nigeria increased to 65,564 at the end of the quarter, displacing FiberOne, which had occupied the second spot in terms of customer numbers.
As of December 2023, NCC’s data showed that Starlink had 23,897 customers and it was the third-largest ISP at that time. The Q3 2024 figure indicates that Starlink had added 41,667 in the first nine months of last year.
Spectranet maintains lead
Meanwhile, one of the oldest ISPs in Nigeria, Spectranet, maintained the top spot in the market with 105,441 active customers at the end of Q3 2024.
This, however, indicates that the company lost over 8,000 customers in the first three quarters of the year as it its customer base stood at 113,869 at the end of 2023. active customers.
FiberOne, which was once the second biggest ISP came a distant third with 33,010 active customers at the end of Q3 2024.
Between ISPs and MNOs
According to NCC’s database, there are currently a total of a total of 241 companies licensed as ISPs in Nigeria.
- However, going by the customer data just released, only 124 of the ISPs had active customers as of Q3 2024.
- NCC’s data shows that the 124 ISPs had a cumulative 307,946 active customers during the period under review.
- The figure is, however, still quite low when compared with internet customers of the four mobile network operators (MNOs) in the country.
- As of September 2024, MTN, Airtel, Globacom, and 9mobile had 132.4 million active internet subscriptions.
What you should know
Despite its higher costs compared with local ISPs, Starlink, which announced its presence in Nigeria in January 2023 had sparked high interest among Nigerians who were eager to change their service providers.
The ubiquitous status of its satellite service also encourages people in areas with poor internet networks to go for Starlink.
Many local ISPs that have been in operation in Nigeria for several years are currently having far less than the number of customers Starlink has garnered in less than two years of its operations.
- Meanwhile, Starlink in December last year increased its subscription price from N38,000 to N75,000 per month.
- The increment came after an initial rancour with the telecom regulator, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) which said Starlink did not secure approval before announcing a price increase earlier.
- With the increasing demand for its service, Starlink at some point last year had to suspend new orders in three major cities, Lagos, Abuja, and Port-Harcourt because it was at capacity in those areas.
- At the same time, Starlink was also ‘sold out’ in Benin City and Warri.
