4G ,5G adoption push Nigeria’s data usage to record-high 721,522 terabytes 

Joy Agwunobi

The Nigerian Communications Commission has reported a record-breaking 721,522 terabytes of data consumption in January 2024, the highest amount ever recorded in a single month,buoyed by the increasing uptake of 4G and 5G networks.

The recent data from the NCC shows that data consumption in Nigeria has been steadily increasing in the past two months. December 2023 saw a surge in data usage, possibly due to the holiday season, reaching 713,200 terabytes. This was a significant increase from previous months, and it may have been fueled by the desire to connect with friends and family during the holidays. However, January still surpassed December, reaching an all-time high of 721,522 terabytes of data consumed.

According to the NCC,the adoption of 4G and 5G networks is one of the main factors driving the surge in data consumption. The networks have enabled users to consume more data in less time, which is reflected in the increase in data consumption. The increased speed and performance of these networks have also allowed for the rapid digitisation of services, from online banking and shopping to entertainment. 

 Data from the NCC website showed that a  total of 161,977,883 active Internet subscriptions were recorded, representing a substantial increase over the 156,244,368 subscriptions that were registered in January of the previous year.

There were a total of 161,504,390 mobile subscriptions, 213,876 subscriptions for Internet service providers (both wired and wireless), 21,437 fixed wire connections, and 238,180 Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) connections. 

The commission reported that there was a decline of 1.9 million Internet subscriptions between December 2023 and January 2024, from 163.8 million subscriptions to 161.9 million. 

The data shows that, while 2G remains the most popular network generation in Nigeria, the percentage of 4G subscriptions is steadily increasing.

 In January 2024, 2G networks accounted for 57.78 per cent of the market, while 3G networks accounted for 9.36 per cent. 4G subscriptions rose from 31.33 per cent in December 2023 to 31.75 per cent in January 2024, indicating a growing demand for faster and more reliable internet.

In addition to the growth of 4G, the report also showed an increase in subscriptions to 5G, the fastest technology being rolled out by telecom operators in Nigeria. As of January 2024, 5G accounted for 1.11 per cent of all connections, up from 1.04 per cent in December 2023.