JUST IN: Nigeria’s number of active telephone connections rises by 112.47%
By Eyo Nsima
The number of active telephone connections, popularly known as teledensity, has risen month-on-month, MoM, by 112.47 percent to 214,696,227 in October 2022, from 212,201,578 recorded in the preceding month of September 2022, according to data – Subscriber/Teledensity – obtained from the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC.
According to NCC, “teledensity is defined as the number of active telephone connections per one hundred (100) inhabitants living within an area and is expressed as a percentage figure.”
However, on year-on-year, YoY, the teledensity increased by 11.8 percent to 214,696,227 in October 2022, from 191,951,769 recorded in the corresponding period of 2021.
The data also indicated that the NCC has consistently recorded a positive trend in the teledensity from 197,499,028 or 103.46 percent in January 2022 to 204,578,953 or 107.17 in May 2022 before hitting the current 214,696,227 or 112.47 percent in October 2022.
The Executive Vice Chairman, EVC, of NCC, Prof. Umar Danbatta, could not be reached for comments immediately.
But in a report obtained from its website, the Commission maintained that, “The Nigerian Communications Commission is the independent National Regulatory Authority for the telecommunications industry in Nigeria. The Commission is responsible for creating an enabling environment for competition among operators in the industry as well as ensuring the provision of qualitative and efficient telecommunications services throughout the country.
“Over the years NCC has earned a reputation as a foremost Telecom regulatory agency in Africa. The Commission is hoping to catalyze the use of ICT for a different aspect of national development. The Commission has initiated several programs such as the State Accelerated Broadband Initiative (SABI) and Wire Nigeria Project (WIN) to help stimulate demand and accelerate the uptake of ICT tools and services necessary for the enthronement of a knowledge society in Nigeria.
“In order to achieve its mandate, the Commission has put in place the necessary licensing and regulatory framework for the supply of telecommunications services.”
