How telecoms operators in Nigeria performed in 2019

MTN Nigeria maintains its lead as the largest telecoms service provider with 68.76 million subscribers, representing 4.6% growth last year.
MTN Nigeria is followed by Globalcom, Airtel Nigeria, and 9mobile respectively.
9Mobil loses 2.7 million subscribers

The share of telecom's contribution to the Nigerian economy stood at 9.20% as of Q3 2019, according to a report by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).

The mobile (GSM) sub-sector controls 99.80% of the contribution.

According to the subscriber statistics, MTN Nigeria maintains its lead as the largest telecoms service provider in the country with 68.76 million subscribers, representing 4.6% growth year-on-year.

NCC subscriber data for 2019 NCC

MTN Nigeria is followed by Globalcom, Airtel Nigeria, and 9mobile respectively.

Between January 2019 and December 2019, Globalcom Nigeria gained 6.1 million customers, while Airtel Nigeria added more 5.2 million subscribers. 9Mobile, on the other hand, lost 2.7 million subscribers.

Heres how each telecoms firms fared in 2019:

MTN Nigeria - 68.76 million subscribers
Globalcom - 51.7 million
Airtel Nigeria - 50.2 million subscribers
9mobile - 13.6 million

Member, National Council Member, Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), Mrs. Erelu Angela Adebayo (left); Ex-Officio, NSE, Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede; Chief Executive Officer, NSE, Oscar Onyema; Chief Executive Officer, MTN Nigeria Communication Plc, Ferdi Moolman; Chairman, MTN Nigeria Communication Plc, Dr. Pascal Dozie; Chief Executive Officer, Chapel Hill Denham, Bolaji Balogun; First Vice President, NSE, Abubakar Balarabe Mahmoud; and Director, MTN Nigeria Communication Plc, Gbenga Oyebode, during the Listing of MTN Nigeria Communications Plc on the Premium Board of NSE in Lagos (Guardian Nigeria) Guardian Nigeria

Within the period under review, MTN Nigeria and Airtel Africa also listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange. For MTN, it also resolved all issues with the Nigerian government.

NCC sanctions telcos for floating rules

At the end of September 2019, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) some sanctioned mobile telecoms firms with N2.7 billion fine.

According to the NCC's latest Compliance Monitoring and Enforcement Report for Q3 2019, Airtel, 9Mobile, and Globacom were sanctioned for forcefully subscribing customers to Data and Value Added Services in contravention of the Commission’s directive on forceful subscription.

The fines are as follow:

Airtel - N2, 397,084.000 (Two Billion, Three Hundred and Ninety-Seven Million, Eighty-Four Thousand Naira)
EMTS - N164, 362,000 (One Hundred and Sixty Four Million, Three Hundred and Sixty-Two Thousand Naira)
Globacom - N232, 576,000(Two Hundred and Thirty-Two Million, Five Hundred and Seventy-Six Thousand Naira).