MTN Nigeria achieved the highest turnover in mobile subscriber number for voice calls on its network in 2019, despite the challenges it passed through in the past two years.
The recent telecoms operators’ statistics released by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), showed that MTN recorded 6.1 million mobile subscribers for voice calls in one year, which was the highest it had ever recorded since the commercial rollout of its services in 2001.
The closest to 6.1 million mobile subscribers it recorded in 2019, was a little above 5.2 million, which it recorded in 2013, about seven years ago.
Aside the high turnover in mobile subscriber number, the statistics also showed that MTN Nigeria recorded high volume in data subscriptions in 2019, to reach an active data subscription number of 25.2 million, which is an increase by 6.5 million.
The increased figures in voice and data subscriptions, placed MTN Nigeria as the largest telecoms operator in Nigeria, with a total number of 68.7 million mobile subscribers as at December 2019, a position it has maintained since the rollout of GSM services in Nigeria in 2001.
The recent NCC’s statistics, which was published on its website, showed that Globacom had 51.7 million mobile subscribers as at December 2019, making it the second largest telecoms operator after MTN, which has 68.7 million mobile subscribers.
Airtel was ranked the third largest telecoms operator, with mobile subscriber number of 50.1 million, followed by 9mobile, which has 13.7 million mobile subscribers on its network.
As at December 2019, the total number of mobile subscribers across all telecoms network, is put at 184.7 million, according to NCC statistics.
MTN, had last year and penultimate year, faced a lot of challenges that threatened its continued operation in Nigeria