The expenditure on airtime and data by Nigerian telecom users surged to a minimum of N2.59tn in the first nine months of 2023, as reported in the financial statements of MTN Nigeria and Airtel Africa.
This marked a 32.57% increase from the N1.95tn recorded by both telcos for the same sources of income in the corresponding period of 2022.
The uptick in voice and data revenue was partly driven by increased data subscriptions and the devaluation of the naira for Airtel.
In the first nine months of 2022, Airtel generated $1.41bn from airtime and data, equivalent to N647.71bn at the exchange rate of N461/$ at that time.
In 2023, the income from these sources amounted to $1.29bn, equivalent to N1.003tn at the exchange rate of N777/$.
For MTN, the growth in data revenues continued to propel overall revenue, with a 36.36% year-on-year increase, while voice revenues grew by 10.64%.
This indicates a rise in internet usage in the country.
MTN attributed this growth to increased data usage and conversion in new and existing user bases, with data usage on its network growing by 29.1%.
Airtel also experienced an increase in data usage per customer to 5.9 GB per month, highlighting a 29.3% growth in data revenue.
The company attributed this to a 17.4% growth in the data customer base and a 12.3% growth in data ARPU.
The surge in internet usage, particularly for video streaming, drove telecom consumers to spend N3.86tn on telecom services in 2022, an 18.74% increase from 2021.
Data consumption in the country increased by 46.77% to 518,381.78TB in 2022.
The trend of rising data consumption aligns with predictions that data revenues will surpass voice revenues in the coming years.
The World Bank attributes growth in the ICT sector to increased consumption of data services by households and businesses.
According to the Ericsson Mobility Report (June 2023), Sub-Saharan Africa is forecasted to experience the highest growth in total mobile data traffic, rising by 37% annually between 2022 and 2028.
This growth is attributed to investments in 4G networks and the migration of customers from 2G and 3G.
In summary, the telecom industry in Nigeria is witnessing significant growth in data consumption, driven by factors such as increased data subscriptions, devaluation of the naira, and a surge in internet activities, particularly video streaming.
The outlook suggests a continued upward trajectory in data usage, outpacing traditional voice services.
