9mobile Defends Data Subscriber Loss as MTN, Airtel Stay Mute
- Thousands of subscribers stopped using 9mobile for their data needs last month, and the telecoms firm has blamed new sim card ban for the loss
- The network provider recorded the lowest loss in the industry when compared to the decline MTN Nigeria, Airtel and Glo
- Telecommunications industry was banned by the Nigerian Communications Commission from registering new sim more than three months
9mobile has blamed the lose of data subscribers on the ban of sim card registration by the regulator of telecoms industry, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).
Legit.ng had reported recently that the telecommunications industry lost 1.7 million subscribers in May as the total data users dropped from 176.7 million to 167.3 million.
Analysis of losses by each network providers showed that the industry leader, MTN Nigeria, lost over 243,000 subscribers, making it the second highest loss among the telcos.
Source: Getty Images
Globacom, which accounts for the second largest market share, lost over 118,000 subscribers, while 906,669 data users was wiped off from Airtel Nigeria's customer base.
However, while the aforementioned competitors lost six figures of subscribers, 9mobile's total data users dropped by 6,594 making it the lowest lost by a telco.
What 9mobile is saying about loss
9mobile's total subscribers dropped from 6.22 million of April, to 6.21 million in May, as at the last industry record released by NCC. In a response to Legit.ng report, 9mobile shift the blame to the ban.
Last year, the government had announced a ban new sim card registration which lasted for more than one quarter of 2021. According to the telco, the loss is an implication of the ban.
9mobile said the loss is not limited to them, confirming the report's industry-wide decline:
"As you must have observed, the media have widely reported on this subject in the last few months as an industry-wide issue that is not peculiar to any network, citing the now lifted ban on new SIM card activation for most of H1-2021 arising from the NIN-SIM link policy of government as a major contributing factor.
"In spite of the industry trend during the same period, however, our network recorded gains which was also well reported."
MTN Nigeria and Airtel have stayed silent in the face of the loss as they didn't respond to enquiries sent by Legit.ng.
MTN Nigeria shareholders lose billions of naira
Legit.ng had previously reported that shareholders of MTN Nigeria lost N20.35 billion in two days following a crash in the company's market value.
MTN Nigeria's market capitalisation declined to N3.31 trillion from N3.33 trillion in one day, as investors confidence dropped in the start of the week.
The telecommunications company's stock price declined, depreciating due to the decline in investors.
Source: Legit.ng
