• Nigerians consume 11.93m terabytes in eight months, despite poor services

Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has warned that fake and substandard mobile phones can disrupt network quality for other subscribers sharing the same telecommunications infrastructure.

The commission said the devices could interfere with network performance, adding to the challenges operators face in delivering reliable services to millions of Nigerians.

The Director of Technical Standards and Network Integrity at the NCC, Edoyemi Ogoh, disclosed this at a news conference on the commission’s technical standards and network integrity initiatives in Abuja yesterday.

He explained that counterfeit devices would not only affect their owners but could also undermine the quality of service experienced by other subscribers connected to the same cell sites.

He noted that subscribers in the same area rely on shared cell sites for network coverage, meaning that interference from a non-compliant device could extend beyond the person using it.

The warning comes as the commission implements an enhanced Type Approval Compliance framework to identify counterfeit, cloned and other non-compliant communications devices in the Nigerian market.

Meanwhile, despite persistent consumer dissatisfaction over deteriorating network quality and frequent dropped calls across the country, telecom subscribers in Nigeria consumed a massive 11.93 million terabytes (TB) of data between January and August, according to the analysis of the latest sector metrics released by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).

The sharp surge in data usage comes as mobile network operators (MNOs) aggressively expanded their subscriber base, driving total active mobile subscriptions to 197,416,694 in August. This represents a significant jump from the 195,108,814 active lines recorded in July, pushing the nation’s mobile teledensity up from 90 per cent to 91.07 per cent in just one month.

The commission’s performance report highlighted an unyielding appetite for digital connectivity among Nigerians. In August alone, total monthly data consumption reached 1,756,414.82 terabytes, a notable increase of nearly 94,393 terabytes from the 1,662,021.45 terabytes consumed in July. Cumulative figures for the first eight months of the year now stand at 11,937,875.85 terabytes, underscoring a rapid nationwide shift toward data-heavy services.

Simultaneously, analysis of the data by The Guardian showed that broadband connectivity sustained an upward trajectory. Active high-speed Internet connections rose from 124.4 million in July (representing a 57.4 per cent penetration rate) to 126,217,174 in August, driving overall national broadband penetration to 58.22 per cent.