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The year 2019 can aptly be described as the year of creative telco ads and slogans showcasing various deals for data bundles in Nigeria, as each service provider tried to claim the lion share of Nigeria’s Internet population.
Stiff competition amongst the telcos has caused repeated beat downs in data price, and the rapid spread of 4G technology. On the flip side, most users can now attest to the fact that data seems to be draining more rapidly and the cost of accessing the Internet is still relatively higher than in other countries.
According to industry statistics from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) for November 2019, MTN gained the highest share of Internet subscribers with 850,285 subscribers, more than twice as much as Airtel, 307,070, while Visafone rounds up the gainers’ table with 7,939.
In the same month, the self-anointed grandmasters of data, Glo shockingly lost ~1.7 million subscribers with the only other losers, 9mobile, shedding 210,374.
Internet Subscribers gained/lost in 2019
Speaking to some Glo users, the majority affirmed that the telco has relatively cheap data plans, but while a precious few praised its speed, the web surfing speed leaves much to be desired.
Of the big mobile network operators, Glo has been leading the way with cheap data plans, and in the opinion of some users its relative sluggishness lets the data “last longer”.
Judging by the massive loss, it may seem that more subscribers are valuing the speed and quality available on other networks to the quantity of data. The only complaints here are fast draining data bundles that “defy reasonable explanation”.
Likely as a result of Glo’s shocking loss, the number of Internet subscribers reduced by about 716,846 between the months of October and November, as gains made by MTN, Airtel, and Visafone could not make up for this loss.
