Nigerians, it has been revealed, consumed one thousand, four hundred and twenty terabytes of data in the year 2022. This was revealed in the annual report published by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) recently reports Naijanaira.
The report highlighted the remarkable growth and impact of the industry on the nation’s economy.
According to report, Nigerians consumed an average of 1,420.2 terabytes of data daily. This showcased a growth in the demand for internet services in the country.
It was observed that the surge in the consumption of data improved the quality of life for Nigerians. It also contributed significantly to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The telecom industry played a pivotal role in driving Nigeria’s economic growth in 2022.
According to the NCC’s report, the industry contributed 13.55% to the nation’s GDP in the fourth quarter of the year. That is a notable increase of 0.94% from the previous year.
“This growth is a testament to the industry’s resilience and its ability to adapt to the changing needs of its subscribers.
“The number of active subscribers also witnessed remarkable growth. Voice subscriptions increased by over 13% from 195.5 million in 2021 to 222.6 million in 2022.
“Internet subscribers also grew by 9.06% from 142 million to 154.8 million, highlighting the expanding access to digital services across the country.
It was pointed that Nigeria’s teledensity reached an impressive 116.60%, indicating widespread connectivity. While the broadband penetration surpassed 78 million, further bridging the digital divide.
“Despite facing economic headwinds, the telecoms sector demonstrated its resilience and emerged as a key driver of Nigeria’s economic growth.
According to ICIR, the ICT sector, along with agriculture and trade, contributed more than 50% to the nation’s GDP in the second quarter of 2023.
“With a Nominal GDP growth rate of 18.83% and a Real GDP growth rate of 10.72% in 2022, the telecoms industry proved its ability to withstand challenges and sustain its upward trajectory.
However, the report revealed that capital inflow into the industry declined to $399.9 million in 2022. This is compared to $753.0 million in the previous year, which necessitated the need for increased investment to unlock its full potential.
From analysis of the data, the Southwest region demonstrated the highest number of active subscribers with 63.8 million. It is followed by the North central and northwest regions with 42.6 million and 40.8 million subscribers, respectively.
“The South-South region accounted for 32.6 million subscribers, while the Northeast and Southeast regions had the lowest number of subscribers at 21.4 million each.
The report maintained that in compliance with the SIM card registration there was an increase. The mobile operators registered a total of 301,283,030 subscribers in Nigeria as of December 2022 in compliance to NCC.
The report also highlighted the enormous volume of voice and SMS traffic. Here, MTN led with the highest outgoing and incoming traffic.
