The number of unused or abandoned lines across the networks of MTN Nigeria, Airtel, Globacom, and 9mobile declined by 13 per cent in 2022, showing that more Nigerians used their lines in the year.
According to the latest subscriber data released by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), inactive lines on mobile networks stood at 94.4 million as of December 2022, down from 109 million recorded at the end of 2021.
The NCC data revealed that the four mobile network operators had a total of N316.6 million connected lines as of December 2022. However, active lines across the networks at the end of the month stood at 2222.2 million. This shows that the telecom operators were able to generate revenue from 70% of their customers in the period under review.
A mobile line is considered to be inactive, if it is not used by the subscriber to make or receive calls and/or access data services for 90 days, at the minimum. Such lines are separated from active lines as they generate no revenue for telecom operators within the stated period.