Internet users on Nigeria’s telecommunications networks increased to 93,591,174 as at August 2016, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) said at the weekend.
The regulatory body made this known in its monthly Internet Subscriber Data, which was obtained in Lagos.
The data showed that internet usage on the Global System for Mobile communications (GSM) and the Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) networks increased by 167,819
It also said that 93,423,355 subscribers used the internet in July, rising to 93,591,174 in August.
The data showed that of the 93,591,174 internet users in August, 93,524,398 were on the GSM networks, while 66,776 used the CDMA.
Of the 93,591,174 internet users on the GSM networks in the month under review, the document showed that MTN Nigeria had 32,771,259 customers browsing on its network.
It stated that MTN suffered a decrease of 561,236 internet subscribers in August, after it recorded 33,332,495 users in the month of July.
According to the report, Globacom has 26,984,974 customers browsing on the internet in August, showing an increase of 164,098 from its July’s record of 26,820,876.
It also said Airtel Nigeria network recorded a rise of users with 18,519,233 internet users in the month of August, as against 17,910,307 customers in July.
The records further showed that Airtel Nigeria network users increased by 608,926 in the month of August.
The data also showed that Etisalat had 15,248,932 internet users in August as against the 15,274,493 in July, recording a decrease of 25,561 users in the month under review.
It also revealed that the CDMA operators (Multi-Links and Visafone), had a joint total of 66,776 internet users on their networks in August.
The record further showed that the two surviving CDMA networks in the country recorded a decrease of 18,408 internet subscribers in the month under review, from the 85,184 users they recorded in July.
Visafone had 66,772 customers surfing the internet in August, showing a reduction of 18,408 users from its July record of 85,180 while Multi-Links maintained the four internet users it recorded in July.
The report revealed the need for more Nigerians to embrace the internet to speed up the country’s progress towards achieving 30 per cent broadband penetration by 2018. – Nigeria Comms Week.
