Telecommunication operator, Airtel Nigeria increased its share of the market to 29% to maintain its position as the second-largest network operator in the country.
The telco has, in the first three months of this year, added 1.5 million new subscriptions, bringing its total active connected lines to 64.4 million at the end of March, according to data released by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC). As of December 2023, Airtel’s active subscriptions stood at 61.8 million.
Airtel is now firmly second and next to MTN Nigeria which remains the largest network operator in Nigeria by subscriber number.
In March, MTN’s active subscriptions rose to 81.8 million, thus accounting for 37% of the GSM market share in Nigeria.
Globacom is third with 62.2 million subscribers with 28% of the market.
Meanwhile, Airtel also witnessed a substantial surge in its share of internet subscriptions.
The telco’s 46.8 million active internet subscriptions at the end of March also represent 28.6% of the total mobile internet subscriptions in the country, which stood at 163.9 million.
This surge correlates with the launch of Airtel 5G, which the company began rolling out in June 2023.
Service quality challenge amid forex scarcity
Despite the growth in the number of subscriptions, Airtel and other network operators in the country continue to battle with rising operation costs.
This in turn has continued to impact their service delivery leading to poor quality experience for subscribers.
The forex challenge in the country is also limiting the operator’s ability to invest more in infrastructure as the Naira devaluation continues to eat deep into their capital expenditure plan.
However, Airtel in a statement released on Friday said it is undaunted by the challenges.
- “Airtel Nigeria’s ascendancy in the telecom market comes at a pivotal moment when mobile network operators face challenges of rising operations cost and exchange rates volatility.
- “This makes the ongoing market share gain even more remarkable as it highlights Airtel’s continued desire to increase investment in Nigeria at a time when many multinational companies are re-evaluating their options,” the company stated.
Airtel surge in recent months is largely connected to its massive investments in 5G and network expansion over the years.
The company is in closed period and yet to publish its full year results for the period ending March 31, 2024.
