By Boluwatife Samuel
Lagos and Ogun States are driving Nigeria’s digital growth, the National Bureau of Statistics stated it.
As reported by the NBS Telecoms Data report for the first quarter of 2024, issued on Monday, Lagos State heads with 18.84 million active internet subscribers, headed closely by Ogun State with 9.53 million.
The report also provided significant regional differences, with other states showing diverse levels of internet adoption. For instance, Kano State logged 9.07 million internet users.
The IT chief, Tumbosun Alake, stated that this act is part of a broader strategy to inspire telecom operators to expand broadband services to underprivileged areas.
Lagos State targets to add 3,300 kilometres of fibre, bringing the total to 6,000 kilometers by 2027.
Although, the state needs more extensive network of about 36,000 kilometres in order to achieve complete coverage, highlighting the need for private-sector collaboration to get this goal.
Going further, the report provided a 4.33 per cent increase in internet subscriptions to 164 million, while voice users decreased by 3 per cent to 219 million.
The total number of active voice subscribers in Q1 2024 was dropped to 219,304,281 from 226,161,713 as at Q1 2023, indicating a growth rate of -3.03 per cent.
According to the bureau, Lagos State led in both categories with 25.96 million active voice subscribers and 18.84 million active internet subscribers, it’s also noted that MTN solidified its market lead in Q1 2024, commanding the largest share of subscriptions by 81.8 million voice subscribers and 69.4 million internet users, Globacom also followed closely in second place, with 62.2 million voice subscribers and 44.4 million internet users, then Airtel came third with 63.4 million voice subscribers and 46.8 million internet users, and lastly 9mobile trailed behind with 11.7 million voice subscribers and 3.3 million internet users.