The total number of subscribers of mobile data in the country rose to 19,331,239 as of the end of September 2016, representing a penetration rate of 69.22 percent according to the National Communication Authority (NCA)
The figure for September is as against the 19,125,469 subscribers recorded in August the same year.
Cellular mobile data operators
In the period under review, MTN’s mobile data subscribers shot up to 9,745,986 as against the August figure of 9,608,952. By that, the company’s market share for the month of September stood at 50.42 per cent as against 50.24 per cent in the previous month.
This is a clear indication that MTN controls more than half of the market as against all the players put together in the industry.
Vodafone followed with a mobile data subscriber number of 3,314,912 in September. Although it increased marginally from 3,301,319 in August, the company’s total market share dipped slightly from 17.26 per cent in August to 17.15 in September.
Airtel’s mobile data subscribers for September 2016 stood at 3,092,700 as against the 3,082,800 recorded in August. However, its market share for the month dropped marginally to 16.00 per cent from 16.12 per cent the previous month.
Tigo’s data subscribers for the period under review rose to 2,872,375 from 2,817,896 in August, but unlike Vodafone and Airtel, the company’s market share for the month under review rose to 14.86 per cent from 14.73 per cent in August.
Loser
Meanwhile, Glo became the only loser in both market share and in subscriber numbers.
For instance, the company recorded data subscriber figures of 265,085 at the end of September 2016, down from 271,756 in August. This reflects a market share of 1.37 per cent for September as against 1.42 per cent in August.
Analysts
Industry analysts have described the penetration rate as encouraging, though marginal, saying the trend is a positive reflection of the acceptance of the use of the Internet for varied reasons, including learning.
However, they were of the view that the NCA could do more to encourage the service providers to extend their services to the rural areas to enable those living there make better use of their smart phones.
According to them, the move could also help encourage industries, among other businesses, to set up in those deprived areas.
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