Nigerians Spending More on Airtime, Spend N360b On MTN Airtime

• Nigerians Spending More on Airtime, Spend N360b On MTN Airtime

The surge in mobile users is boosting the demand for airtime in Nigeria and across the African continent.

A recent report released by MTN Nigeria showed Nigerians spent N359,033,758,000 on airtime and subscription in the first half of the year. An increase of N31.83 billion when compared with N327,203,329,000 generated in the same period of 2018.

The company attributed the increase in airtime revenue to 3.3 million additional mobile subscribers that joined the network in the first half of the year. Taking the company total mobile subscribers to 61.5 million.

Also, data subscribers grew by 2.1 million to 20.7 million during the same period.

In its financial results released through the Nigerian Stock Exchange, MTN Nigeria revenue rose by 12.12 percent to N566.946 billion with airtime and data sales accounting for the bulk of the revenue.

Earlier this month, a study conducted by GSMA predicted that Nigeria’s mobile subscribers would grow at an average rate of 19 percent per annum for the next six years.

According to the report, unique mobile subscribers in sub-Saharan Africa will grow from 456 million achieved in 2018 to 623 million by 2025.

This is expected to further boost revenues of telecommunication companies operating in Africa, but considering MTN reach, the company is well-positioned to grow even bigger.

The N359 billion spent by Nigerians on airtime and data in the first half of 2019 is equivalent to 4.04 percent of 2019 national budget.