The subscriber base of telecommunication service providers, Globacom, MTN, Airtel and 9mobile was depleted by a total of 3.7 million in the month of April.
This is according to the industry statistics report by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) for the period.
The report showed that active subscribers fell from 192.41 million in March to 188.70 million in April.
Globacom was the top loser among the telcos with 2.31 million subscribers, followed by MTN with 1.10 million, while Airtel and 9mobile lost 207,542 and 71,228 subscribers, respectively.
A further breakdown showed that Globacom subscribers dropped from 52,918,718 in March to 50,598,855 in April; MTN lost a total of 74,819,864 subscribers in April from 75,927,231 in March.
Airtel subscribers fell from 50,384,950 in March to 50,177,408 in April; while 9mobile dropped from 12,850,383 in March to 12,779,155 in April.
However, by market share, MTN was the largest operator with 39.72 percent, Globacom with 26.86 percent, Airtel (26.64 percent), and 9mobile (6.78 percent).
Recall that in December 2020, NCC directed telcos in the country to suspend the sale and reactivation of new subscribers identification module (SIM) cards. The regulator said that it was embarking on an audit of the subscriber registration database.
The suspension was lifted on April 19, 2021, with a condition that national identification number (NIN) registration must be presented for new SIM card registration.
In 2021 Q1, the telecommunications sector witnessed slow growth, a situation that was attributed to the ban on SIM cards sales.
