Internet users inch to 106m in Sept

INTERNET USERS IN NIGERIA increased marginally to 106 million in September, according to the monthly Internet subscriber data released by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) Friday.

INTERNET USERS IN NIGE RIA increased marginally to 106 million in September, according to the monthly Internet subscriber data released by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) Friday.

The data showed that overall Internet users increased to 105,980, 062 in September from the 104,628,342 recorded in August representing an increase of 1, 351,720.

According to the data, Airtel, MTN and Globacom gained more Internet subscribers during the month under review, while 9mobile was the biggest loser.

The breakdown revealed that MTN gained the more with 1,010, 264 new Internet users in September, increasing its subscription to 40,469,906 as against 39,459,642 in August.

It said that Airtel gained 417,171 new users increasing its subscription in September to 27, 925,411 compared to 27,508,240 in August.

Globacom gained 14,840 new internet users, increasing its subscription in September to 27,433,607 from 27, 418,767 recorded in August.

It further showed that 9mobile, lost 90,555 Internet users in September decreasing its subscription to 10,151,138 as against 10,241,693 recorded in August.

The NCC data also indicated that active mobile telephone lines in Nigeria increased to 162,032,053 in September from 160,859,620 recorded in August.

Specifically, the data reveal that the Global System for Mobile communication (GSM) network recorded 161,685,747 in the month under review, giving an increase of 1,164,754 as against 160,520,993 in August.

On the other hand, the Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) operators had 126,269 active subscribers in September, adding 7,261 to the 119,008 customers in August.

Fixed wired network had 110,793 active users, showing a decrease of 3,148 from the 113,941 subscribers recorded in August. The telecommunications regulatory umpire said that the Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) operators had 109,244 in September, giving an increase of 3,566 subscribers, compared with 105,678 users recorded in August.

It also revealed that teledensity increased to 115.76 in September, as against 114.92 in August. Teledensity is the number of telephone connections for every 100 individuals living within an area and it varies widely across the country. It is calculated based on a national population of 140 million, according to 2006 last census population figures.