Based on data from the NCC, the four major mobile networks in Nigeria (Glo, MTN, Airtel and 9 Mobile) had a total of N323.6 million linked lines in February this year. However, by the end of the month, there were 226.8 million active lines across all four networks.
This shows that telecom operators were able to generate revenue from 70% of their customers during the assessment period. A mobile line is considered inactive if the user does not use it to initiate or receive calls or access data services for at least 90 days.
As of December 2022, there were 94.4 million idle lines across mobile networks. A month later, the number rose to 95.2 million; In February, it rose to 96.7 million.
The increase in idle lines could impact Q1 revenue for mobile network operators, who are already expected to miss their revenue targets due to the recent economic cash crunch.
As a result of government policy requiring all users of SIM-enabled devices to link their national identity number or face, many Nigerians will have to ditch their mobile lines in 2021.
The deadline for the exercise was pushed back several times, affecting millions of lines from December 2020 to April 2022, as the government instructed carriers to block unconnected lines.
As some customers prefer to buy new lines rather than go through the process of reactivating their old lines, many lines that have been blocked from being added to the pool of inactive lines have not yet been reactivated.
Apart from the NIN issue, industry watchers have attributed the increasing number of inactive lines to the ease with which SIM cards are now acquired and dumped. According to him, MNOs are contributing to the surge through their aggressive marketing approach of providing SIM cards at little or no cost to consumers in some cases.
