More phone lines than citizens
THE FEDERAL CAPITAL TERRITORY (FCT) and 10 states in Nigeria have more active telephone lines in use than the entire population residing in them, Business A.M. data analysis has shown.
The findings come amid the fact t...
THE FEDERAL CAPITAL TERRI TORY (FCT) and 10 states in Nigeria have more active telephone lines in use than the entire population residing in them, Business A.M. data analysis has shown.
The findings come amid the fact that many residents in the identified regions lack affordability or access to the telecoms services, even as million more minors are still considered underage to acquire personal mobile phones with active lines.
This development, according to experts, is leading to saturation where there is acute concentration of service in an area despite lack of same in other segment due to various reasons.
Business A.M.’s analysis of ‘Telecoms Data: Active Voice and Internet per State, Porting and Tariff Information’ for Q1, 2020 released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) revealed there is a lopsided distribution of access to telecoms services based on active subscriptions in the country.
This is further reflected in the teledensity, which rose to 100.72 per cent as of May, suggesting that there are more than 100 functional telephone lines per 100 people living in any given area in the country, contrasting the known access gap of more than 30 million people that are yet to be served with telecoms service in the country.
Based on their appearance, Abia state has 3.62 million residents but 3.68 million functional telephone lines, growing by o.61 per cent from Q1 of 2019.
Delta State has a total population of 5.46 million; telephones in the state have grown to 6.16 million as of March, growing by 10.02 per cent from the same period of 2019. Similarly, Edo state has 4.11 million residents relative to 6.33 million lines that have increased by 17.05 per cent from 5.41 per cent last years’ Q1.
According to the NBS data, the FCT, Abuja, accommodates 3.13 million people who have more than double that number, that is, 8.48 million telephone lines at their disposal. The number rose by 7.22 per cent from the 7.91 million it stood in March last year.
Meanwhile, the recorded 8.52 million lines in Kaduna State belong to some among 7.98 million people in the state. The telephone lines have increased by 11 per cent from 7.68 million in the comparative period of 2019.
Kwara State, has 3.09 million people and 3.09 million active lines, a 2.01 per cent uptick from 3.91 million in the previous Q1.
Although Nigeria’s commercial capital, Lagos state, has both the highest population and numbers of telephone lines, it is not guilty of the widest disparity. The state, as at Q1 2020 is reported to have 12.1 million residents and 23.31 million telephone lines. Compared to 2019, telephone subscriptions only recorded a dead cat bounce at 0.96 per cent from 23.08 million last year.
Nassarawa has 2.44 million people against 3.97 lines in use, 7.48 per cent higher than 3.69 million in 2019. Niger State followed suit with 5.34 million people relative to 6.25 million phone subscriphowever tions, putting the figure 4.73 per cent above 5.97 million being used in the state as at Q1, 2019.
Ogun State, a home to 5.02 million people also has 10.95 million telephones, indicating that each resident, irrespective of age or social status, possesses at least two active telephone lines. The figure grew by 6.89 per cent from 10.24 million it stood last year.
Oyo state is also saturated with telephone accounts, numbering 9.62 million, growing by 8.73 per cent from 8.85 million last year’s Q1.
Of the total 189.28 million active lines at March ending, the 10 states and Abuja collectively made up for 91.35 million, receiving 48.26 per cent of telecoms services in the country, even as they host just 59.83 million of the country’s 200 million people.
Responding to the development, the Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON) stressed the need to strike a balance in infrastructure distribution to deepen services to regions where telecoms service is still an alien, and thus bridge the gap.
Similarly, the Alliance for Affordable Internet (A4AI) has advocated that less than 2 per cent of monthly revenue of every household should be spent on 1gigabyte volume of data
For this to be achieved in Nigeria, the Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), has stressed that every obstacle from government and other elements must be removed to engender a conducive environment for operators to deploy more infrastructure.
Gbenga Adebayo, ALTON chairman, has challenged the government to provide the sector with an enabling environment and expect better performances in 2020 and beyond.
He said this would accelerate the pace of service coverage and at reasonable cost for the consumers.
He said, “Government should, as a matter of urgency, classify the telecom industry as a critical national security and economy sector and accord us the high level of protection required to sustain our infrastructure.”