Nigeria is a nation of avid telecom users, who spend a whopping N2.6 trillion on data and airtime in just nine months. This staggering amount is equivalent to the GDP of Kenya, the largest economy in East Africa. It also surpasses the budget of the Nigerian government for 2023, which is N2.4 trillion.
The data and airtime consumption of Nigerians reflects their increasing reliance on mobile devices for communication, entertainment, education, and business. According to the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), the number of active mobile subscribers in the country rose to 211.5 million as of September 2023, representing a penetration rate of 104.4 percent. This means that there are more mobile lines than people in Nigeria.
The NCC also reported that the total volume of data used by Nigerians in the first nine months of 2023 was 196,163.42 terabytes, an increase of 51.7 percent from the same period in 2022, when it was 129,339.01 terabytes. This shows that Nigerians are consuming more data than ever before, especially with the advent of 4G and 5G networks, which offer faster and more reliable internet services.
The high demand for data and airtime in Nigeria has also boosted the revenue of the telecom operators, who are the major beneficiaries of the telecom boom. According to the NCC, the total revenue generated by the telecom sector in the first nine months of 2023 was N2.29 trillion, an increase of 15.2 percent from the same period in 2022, when it was N1.99 trillion. This makes the telecom sector one of the most lucrative and resilient sectors in the Nigerian economy, despite the challenges of insecurity, inflation, and COVID-19.
The telecom sector is expected to grow even further in the coming years, as more Nigerians embrace the digital revolution and the government invests in improving the telecom infrastructure. The NCC has projected that the telecom sector will contribute 12 percent to the GDP by 2025, up from 10.1 percent in 2020. This means that Nigerians will continue to spend more on data and airtime, as they enjoy the benefits of mobile technology.