The Nigerian Bureau of Statistics, NBS, Tuesday released telecom industry data statistics for the fourth quarter of 2017, declaring that the sector recorded low porting activities compared to the previous quarter.
This is also as the sector recorded an increased active voice subscription by 3.69 percent, against the third quarter of the year.
According to the Bureau, incoming and outgoing porting activities in the fourth quarter of 2017, stood at 8,628 and 8,830, representing a decrease of 48.67 per cent and 47.14 per cent respectively over the previous quarter.
Meanwhile, 9Mobile was said to have the largest beneficiary for incoming porting activities, accounting for 5,177 or 60 per cent of the total incoming porting.
While 5,177 subscribers ported into 9mobile during the period under review, MTN recorded 1,538, Airtel, 1,173 and Globacom 740.
In the same vein, 9mobile recorded low port out of subscribers with about 1,447 subscribers leaving its network, MTN recorded 2,830, Airtel, 2,760 and Globacom 1,848 subscribers respectively, leaving their networks.
Mobile Number Portability, MNP was introduced in April 2013, at the peak of poor telecommunications services in Nigeria to allow telecoms subscribers migrate from one network to another within a period of 90 days without losing the original mobile number.
Total Active Voice Subscription
The Bureau also recorded that total active voice subscription and total active internet subscription in the fourth quarter of 2017 was 145,065,953 and 98,699,310 respectively.
This means that total active voice subscription increased by 3.69 per cent from quarter 3,2017 while total active internet subscription increased by 5.83 per cent from quarter 3,2017.
Both voice and internet communication subscriptions in the fourth quarter, 2017 were dominated by Global System for Mobile Communications, GSM.
It said: “However, total active voice subscriptions in the fourth quarter of 2017 decreased by 6.12% when compared with the same quarter of 2016, from to 154,529,780 in 2016 Q4 to 145,065,953 in Q4, 2017. The figure also indicates a 3.69% increase from the number reported in the third quarter of 2017.”
The report added that “GSM subscription remained the largest component in Total Active Mobile Subscription over the past year. As at the end of the fourth quarter of 2017, Nigeria recorded 144,640,677 GMS based active voice subscriptions nationwide.”
