Telecom
Ericsson Mobility Report Reveals Nigeria as the Third Highest Mobile Subscriptions Additions in Q1 2021
Ericsson recently unveiled two reports: The 20th edition of the Ericsson Mobility report and “The Future of Urban Reality Report” that together, forecast the future of 5G in Sub-Saharan Africa and around the world in addition to forecasting the post-pandemic world.
Both reports reveal data that confirm the acceleration of mobile connectivity and digitalization in Nigeria, the country with the third highest mobile subscriptions additions in Q1 2021 globally according to the latest Ericsson Mobility Report.
Ericsson projects that 5G mobile subscriptions will exceed 580 million by the end of 2021, driven by an estimated one million new 5G mobile subscriptions every day. The forecast, which features in the latest Ericsson Mobility Report, confirm the expectation that 5G will become the fastest adopted mobile generation. 5G is expected to surpass a billion subscriptions two years ahead of the 4G LTE timeline for the same milestone.
The report features breakout statistics from Sub-Saharan African markets where around 15 percent of mobile subscriptions were for 4G at the end of 2020. The net addition of mobile subscriptions was quite low during Q1 2021, at 59 million.
This is likely due to the pandemic and associated lockdown restrictions. India had the most net additions (+26 million), followed by China (+6 million) and Nigeria (+3 million).
Mobile broadband subscriptions in Sub-Saharan Africa are predicted to increase, reaching 76 percent of mobile subscriptions by 2026. However, 5G volumes are not expected to grow in the region for 2021 but are likely to reach around 70 million 5G subscriptions in 2026.
Separately, the Global Telecom Market Report (GTM) also known as “The Future of Urban Reality Report” was also recently launched by the Ericsson ConsumerLab, to assess the penetration of 5G and the tremendous potential it holds to markets around the world.
The latest Ericsson ConsumerLab report is Ericsson’s largest consumer study to date, revealing key insights about what Nigerian consumers believe will happen beyond the pandemic, into the year 2025, through surveying a sample of 1,000 to 2,000 respondents between the ages of 15–79.
The report found that, when entering the “next normal”, consumers in Africa will have added an average of 3.4 online services to their daily online activities, while also increasing the time they spend online by 10 hours per week by 2025, in comparison to their pre-pandemic habits.
This move is also expected to bridge the gap between moderate and advanced online users, with the more moderate online users having introduced more online services in their daily life over the course of the pandemic.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the implementation of online education at schools and universities as well as remote working in Nigeria has increased to 72 percent and 62 percent respectively. Going forward online education and remote working are collectively expected to remain at a level of 29 percent.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the amount of online shopping in Nigeria stood at 35 percent out of the total number of all shopping events, both online and at physical stores.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, this figure increased to 51 percent. Nigerian consumers anticipate their habits around online shopping will remain at a level of 44 percent after the COVID-19 pandemic has passed.
Sean Cryan, Country Manager of Ericsson Nigeria says: “Positioned as the third highest mobile subscriptions additions in Q1 2021 globally, Nigeria is growing tremendously setting #AfricaInMotion. The growth can be attributed to the young, growing population, the increasing digital skills, and the more affordable smartphones. Correspondingly, this growth is reflected in the online habits of the country where the dependency on online activities for daily tasks is expected to remain high in the future.”
Ericsson has found that despite the uncertainty caused by COVID-19, service providers continue to switch on 5G, and more than 160 service providers have launched commercial 5G services.
MTN Nigeria Communications PLC has announced that the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has approved the renewal of the spectrum lease agreement between MTN Nigeria and Natcom Development and Investment Limited (NTEL).
Uto Ukpanah, Company Secretary in a statement released recently said that the agreement covers the lease of NTEL’s 5MHz frequency division duplex (FDD) in the 900MHz spectrum band and 10MHz FDD in the 1800MHz spectrum band, which spans 19 states.
The renewal is for another two-year period, effective 1 May 2025. Additionally, the NCC has approved a one-year lease expansion of the spectrums, covering the remaining 17 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), effective 1 January 2025.
Commenting on the transactions, MTN Nigeria CEO Karl Toriola said, “We are pleased with the renewal of the spectrum lease agreement with NTEL, which now includes coverage for all states, including the FCT.
“The lease enables us to enhance our 3G and 4G user experience as we improve coverage and capacity by utilising the spectrums.
“This positions us to capitalise on the growing demand for data and improve the delivery of services to our customers.”
Nigeria’s technology company, Globacom, has extended warm felicitations to Nigerians on the occasion of the 2024 Christmas celebrations.
In a goodwill message released in Lagos, Globacom urged Nigerians to embrace the spirit of love and kindness during the festive season, especially in the face of prevailing economic challenges.
The company emphasized the importance of practicing the teachings of Jesus Christ, particularly the virtues of obedience to God and loving one’s neighbor as well.
“Christ taught many virtues including obedience to God and loving one’s neighbour as oneself”, the company said, adding, “Now is the apt time to practise these teachings by sharing with the needy”.
Globacom also encouraged Nigerians to extend the conviviality of Christmas beyond the festive season by fostering love, peace, and harmony, as demonstrated by God through the birth of Jesus Christ.
Assuring its customers of uninterrupted services throughout the Yuletide period and beyond, Globacom urged them to take advantage of its innovative products and services to stay connected and share the memories of the season with loved ones.
Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) have ordered Deposit Money Banks and Mobile Network Operators to settle the long-standing N250bn USSD debt dispute before January 2, 2025.
The CBN and NCC also directed banks to pay the pre-Application Programming Interfaces (API) debt before July 2, 2025.
They also ordered that post-API debts be settled before December 31, 2024.
The directive was issued in a joint cirular titled, “2nd Joint Circular of the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Nigerian Communications Commission on the Resolution of the USSD Debt Issue Between Deposit Money Banks and Mobile Network Operators.”
The circular dated December 20, 2024, was signed by Oladimeji Taiwo, acting director of the Payments System Management Department, CBN, and Chizua Whyte, head of Legal and Regulatory Services, NCC.
The regulators said, “In view of the foregoing, the CBN and the NCC hereby direct DMBs and MNOs as follows: 1. That 60 per cent of all pre-API invoices must be paid as full and final settlement.
“Payment plans (lump sum or installments) must be agreed upon between a concerned DMB and MNO by January 2, 2025. Installments must be based on equal monthly payments, with full payment due by July 2, 2025.
“DMBs must pay 85 per cent of all outstanding invoices issued after the implementation of APIs (i.e., February 2022) by December 31, 2024.
“Similarly, 85 per cent of future invoices must be liquidated within one month of service.”
According to the regulators, the transition to end-user billing will be activated only for DMBs and MNOs that comply with the payment conditions cobtained in the circular.
CBN and the NCC said they would provide further guidance on public enlightenment initiatives related to the transition.
The regulators also directed MNOs to implement the “10-seconds rule” for USSD invoicing.
This implies that any session lasting less than ten seconds will not be billable.
The regulators added, “Failure to comply with the terms outlined in this directive will attract necessary sanctions, ensuring that both DMBs and MNOs uphold their obligations.”
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