Lagos, Kano Top Mobile Phone Subscriptions -NBS

The largest chunk of telecommunications subscribers in Nigeria is based in three states of Lagos, Ogun and Kano, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has revealed.

While Lagos topped other states with 23.5 million voice subscriptions, Ogun and Kano emerged second and third with 10.6 million and 10.5 million subscriptions respectively.

According to the third quarter 2019 telecoms data released by the bureau, while total voice subscriptions at the end of the quarter stood at 179.1 million, the three states accounted for 44.7 million, representing 25 per cent of the total figure.

In terms of internet subscriptions, the three states also recorded the highest figure for subscriptions. Lagos led with 16.8 million internet subscriptions, while Ogun still came second with 7.5 million as Kano came third with 6.9 million internet subscriptions.

Ebonyi and Bayelsa states recorded the least number of subscriptions, both in voice and internet in the period under review. While Bayelsa had only 1.3 million voice subscriptions to be the least, Ebonyi had 1.6 million.

According to the NBS statistics, Bayelsa has a population of 2.2 million, which means that only half of the population is connected. Internet subscription in the state was put at 925,489. Also, Ebonyi’s subscription figure represents nearly half of its 2.4 million population.

Further analysis of the states’ subscriptions showed that telecommunications connectivity is higher in the cosmopolitan states, a development that has seen stakeholders in the sector clamouring for extension of telecommunications infrastructure to all parts of the country.

According to Mr. Olusola Teniola, president, Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON), there are about 225 communities in Nigeria that are yet to receive or make voice call.

While calling for more investments in infrastructure to extend telecoms coverage across the country, Teniola said there were about 20 million Nigerians without access to the internet.

Similarly, Prof. Umar Danbatta, executive vice chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), recently disclosed that about 40 million were still being deprived access to telecommunications services due to over 200 access gaps recorded in the information and communication technology industry. Speaking at a recent forum, Danbatta had called for urgent actions to bridge these gaps.

He said: “In Nigeria, we have over 200 access gaps. We know where these gaps are and you won’t believe this, but these access gaps deprive Nigerians, close to 40 million of them, access to telecoms services.

“When we talk about policies that need to be put in place to improve internet services, we need to look at what we can do to fast track plugging these access gaps because unless we do something, many of our citizens would continue to live without access to internet, especially the right kind of internet connectivity, the high-speed internet, which must be facilitated by broadband infrastructure.”

Danbatta maintained that the infrastructure that is necessary to facilitate access to the internet must be available, noting, however, that the Federal Government had started the process and had already divided the country into seven zones, with each zone having a licensee to deploy broadband infrastructure.

“The whole essence is to provide that connectivity, which is necessary; and connectivity that is easily accessible and easily available and of course, affordable, to the masses of this country. I believe other countries are doing the same so that access to the internet can be facilitated at the right speed and time, irrespective of where our citizens are located. Access is very important,” he noted.

The NCC chief executive insisted that connectivity was key to empowering citizens, socially and economically, adding that it would play a critical role in the country’s digital transformation drive.

Source: Commweek