The amount spent on airtime and data by Nigerian telecom subscribers rose to at least N2.59tn in the first nine months of 2023.
This is according to the financial statements of MTN Nigeria and Airtel Africa.
This was a 32.57 per cent increase from the N1.95tn both telcos recorded from both income sources in the corresponding period of 2022.
The increase in voice and data was partially driven by rising data subscriptions and the devaluation of the naira on Airtel’s part.
In the first nine months of 2022, Airtel made $1.41bn from airtime and data. When converted at the exchange rate of N461/$ which was obtained at the time, it amounted to N647.71bn.
In the same period of 2023, the company’s income from these two revenue sources amounted to $1.29bn. When converted at the exchange rate of N777/$ at the time, it amounted to N1.003tn.
On MTN’s part, increasing data revenues continue to fuel the company’s overall revenue growth.
Data revenues grew by 36.36 per cent year-on-year, while voice revenues only grew by 10.64 per cent, indicating a rise in the usage of the Internet in the country.
Increased Internet usage because of a rise in video streaming pushed the amount telecom consumers spent on telecom services to N3.86tn in 2022.
It was an 18.74 per cent increase from the N3.25tn that was spent in 2021.
Data usage in the country surged by 46.77 per cent compared to 2021.
Data consumption has been predicted to be the next frontier for telecoms growth and is expected to continue to surge.
Many analysts believe data revenues will outpace voice revenues in the coming years.
The World Bank recently disclosed that increases in the consumption of data services by households and businesses and higher subscriber numbers were responsible for growth in the ICT sector.