Active mobile subscribers in Nigeria hit 220m, as internet users reach 159m – NCC
Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has disclosed that active mobile subscribers in the country has reached a total of 220 million, just as it also put the number of active internet subscribers at 159,034,717 million.
Speaking during the 18th Abuja International Trade Fair organised by the Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) in Abuja, the Executive Vice Chairman (EVC) of NCC, Prof. Umar Danbatta, further added that this at the country’s broadband penetration was now at 45.57 per cent as at August, 2023.
The trade fair held under the theme; ‘Sustainable Financing and Taxation.’
Represented by the Director, Consumer Affairs Bureau, Mr Umar Alkasim, the Executive Vice Chairman, Danbatta said the competitiveness of Nigerian businesses depend on their ability to leverage on new technologies by acquiring the necessary digital skills to do business on an international scale.
“In Nigeria today, the number of active mobile subscriptions reached 220,715,961 million as at August 2023, while Teledensity stood at 115.63 per cent at the same period. Also, the number of active Internet subscribers was 159,034,717 Million with broadband penetration at 45.57 per cent as at August, 2023.
“In this new environment, the competitiveness of Nigerian businesses depends on their ability to leverage on new technologies by acquiring the necessary digital skills to do business on an international scale. This in turn benefits the economy financially,” Danbatta said.
According to the EVC, the NCC’s regulatory efforts in deepening access to digital services would benefit Nigeria and make it competitive comparable with other economies in the areas of job creation and contribution to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth.
“NCC’s regulatory efforts in deepening access to digital services will benefit Nigeria and make it competitive comparable with other economies in the areas of job creation; contribution to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth; 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.
“This is in order to deepen competitiveness of the Nigerian economy by making our businesses and industries digitally compliant.”
To sustain the steady growth of telecoms sector, the EVC said NCC would continue to create a conducive environment.
He said an environment that would stimulate deployment of robust broadband infrastructure to improve the Quality of service (QoS) and Quality of Experience (QoE) for telecom consumers, be it individuals or corporates.
“This is because, as a country, we need robust telecoms infrastructure that will help our industries transit to becoming Information and Communication Technology (ICT)-driven if we hope to be digitally competitive on the global stage,” he said.
