New data from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) have shown that MTN led the list of telecom operators that gained new subscribers through mobile number porting between October 2023 and March 2024.
Mobile number portability is a feature that allows a mobile subscriber to switch to a different service provider while retaining their existing mobile number. The feature is offered by all Mobile Network Operators (MNOs).
The NCC data revealed that there was a slight drop in telecom subscriptions across networks, from 224,713,710 recorded in December 2023, to 219,304,281 subscriptions in March 2024.
The drop in subscriptions witnessed by telecom operators have been linked to the weak purchasing power, occasioned by the harsh economic situation in the country.
Despite the setback, telcos still gained new subscribers through mobile number porting within the same period.
Telcos gain new subscribers through number porting
A breakdown of volume of number porting during the period:
1. MTN
MTN with a market share of 37.35% as at March 2024 led the telcos with the highest number of in-coming porting.
As at October 2023, MTN alone received 1,925 new subscribers from other networks to its network. It had 9,686 new subscribers that ported to the network between November 2023, to March 2024.
2. Airtel
In October 2023, Airtel had 1,034 inbound subscribers that ported from other networks to its network. The network further gained 3029 subscribers from November 2023, to March 2024.
3. Globacom
Globacom also had 132 new subscribers that ported to its network in October 2023, and gained 1,002 new subscribers from November 2023, to March 2024.
4. 9Mobile
According to the NCC data, 9Mobile also gained new subscribers through mobile number porting within the same period. As at October 2023, 9Mobile had 126 new subscribers that ported to its network. 454 new subscribers were added to the network from November 2023, to March 2024.
Further breakdown of the data revealed that in October 2023, a total of 3,217 subscribers ported to various networks while a total of 15,477 subscribers ported across different networks from November 2023 to February this year, with an average of about 3,000 subscriptions per month.
The total number of porting subscribers however dropped across networks to 1,911 in March 2024.