• Post-paid customers rise to 7.1m as NCC type-approved phones hit 2,155
The Nigerian telecoms market increased the number of prepaid mobile voice subscriptions from 189,509,350 in December 2021 to 215,345,361 in December 2022 indicating an increase of 13.63 per cent in prepaid mobile voice subscriptions in the country.

On the other hand, postpaid mobile voice subscriptions increased from 5,848,163 in December 2021 to 7,129,211 as at December 2022, which was an increase of 21.9 per cent growth in that segment of the market in the period under review.

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), which revealed this, said the analysis indicated that about 96.8 per cent of mobile subscribers are prepaid subscribers while only about 3.2 per cent are postpaid.

For emphasis, postpaid mobile service is provided by a prior arrangement with a mobile network operator. The user in this situation is billed after the fact according to their use of mobile services at the end of each month or quarterly and some yearly.

Regionally and largely, the Southwest (SW) and Northcentral (NC) zones recorded the highest number of subscriptions while the Northeast (NE) zone recorded the least number of subscriptions due to the continuous insecurity situation experienced in the zone.

SW as of December 2022, had 63.7 million (26.64 per cent) active customers; NC had 42.5 million; NW, 40.8 million; SS, 32.6 million; SE, 21.4 million and NE, 21.3 million (9.6 per cent) active subscribers.

In a related development, the NCC has approved more phone types for Nigerians. There are now 2,155 type-approved phones in the country for usage as of July 2023.

The figure increased by 43 new models, as it rose from 2,112 in April to the current figure of 2,155.

Expectedly, Chinese mobile manufacturers have found solace in Nigeria and remained the dominant vendor in the country with approved devices.

Phone brands under Transsion Group comprising Tecno, Infinix, and iTel currently have a total of 545 models of their phones approved for sale in Nigeria. This represents 25 per cent of the total approved phones in the market.

Already, the NCC has warned Nigerians against the use of unapproved mobile phones. The Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Prof Umar Danbatta, warned against the proliferation of counterfeit handsets in the country.

“The menace of counterfeit and substandard handsets has assumed a global dimension and requires a lot of education on the part of the consumers and collaboration with other government agencies to address it.

“Cases of influx and patronage of counterfeit handsets are more rampant in developing countries, such as Nigeria, where importers bring in substandard phones without recourse to the regulatory type-approval process aimed at certifying such devices as fit for the market,” he noted.

The Guardian had last month reported the slow pace of local manufacturers in the production of indigenous mobile phones, the consequent of which has suggested a monthly import of N50 billion.

Amid the huge market opportunity, the country relies on foreign countries, especially Asia, for both assembling and manufacturing of devices.

Though local companies including AfriOne, Imose, RLG, Bryte, Solo, Omatek and Zinox have delved into local manufacturing, the companies, except for Zinox (which concentrates on laptop assembling) have since gone down. International brands, especially the Chinese brands which are repatriating huge profits, have failed to fulfill the promise to establish plants in the country.

The Nigerian system has been blamed for this huge gap in phone manufacturing in the country.

Specifically, a popular Chinese brand with orange colour as an identifier, said, unlike countries such as Turkey, Egypt, among others with strong policies on indigenisation, where foreign companies are compelled to have a manufacturing plant in countries outside theirs, “Nigeria doesn’t have such. That is the reason brands are not keen on having a manufacturing plant in the country.”

The official, who categorically said the brand, which hoped to increase its market share in Nigeria from eight per cent to 10 per cent by the end of the year, stressed that siting a plant in a new country depends on the request of the country’s government.