The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has revealed that the expenditure on telecom services surged to N3.86tn in 2022, driven by increased video streaming and talk time.

This marked an 18.74% rise from the previous year’s N3.25tn spending, indicating a continued reliance on telecom services among Nigerians.

The NCC’s ‘2022 Subscriber/Network Data Annual Report’ provided insights into the revenue breakdown.

It showed that GSM operators earned N3.33tn, Fixed wired operators made N385.07m, Internet Service Providers generated N92.08bn, Value Added Service providers contributed N40.74bn, collocation and infrastructure sharing operators gained N3.29bn, and other telecom operators accounted for N5.59bn.

While telecom providers saw substantial revenue, their operating costs and capital expenditure amounted to N2.88tn, leaving a profit margin (pre-tax) of N977.44bn.

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The active subscriber count increased by 13.86% to 222,571,568 active voice subscriptions by the end of 2022, attributed to factors such as subscriber loyalty, promotions, acquisitions, and competitive offerings across networks.

The increase was also attributed to the lifting of restrictions on SIM sales and registrations, SIM swaps, and porting activities following a subscriber registration database audit.

This subscriber growth positively impacted indicators like teledensity, Internet penetration, and broadband adoption.

Video streaming-related data usage rose by 46.77% to 518,381.78TB in 2022 due to increased smartphone usage.

The number of Internet subscribers grew by 9.06% to 154.85 million, and broadband penetration reached 47.36%, compared to 40.88% in the previous year.

More calls were made in 2022, with total outgoing local and national traffic reaching 204,091,441,469.16 minutes, a 17.59% increase from 2021.

SMS communication remained relevant, with a 28.82% rise in national SMS sent and received.

The telecom sector continues to play a vital role in Nigeria’s economy, acting as its communication backbone and facilitating economic connectivity.

As of the end of 2021, the sector had attracted $75.6bn in investments, according to Prof. Umar Danbatta, the Executive Vice Chairman of NCC.