By Market is expanding for GSM operators in Nigeria and growth is not expected to recede anytime soon even for handset manufacturers. More than one million subscribers are added every month to deepen operators’ profitability in Africa’s biggest telecom market. There are now about 126 million subscribers in the last count by the country’s telecom regulator: the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).
Growth from March 2013-February 2014 points moved from over 114 million subscribers to over 126 million by February 2014. As the NCC’s data show, as at December 2013, subscribers were 124 million, that figured moved to 125 and 126 million in January and February, 2014 respectively.
With the average cost of GSM handset puts at N10,000, that would put the total cost of the 126 million GSM handsets in use at N126 billion. There are also indications that half of these GSM owners must have changed their handset once. Going by this calculation, 63 million changed GSM handsets would amount to N63 billion. That means, Nigerians are estimated to have spent a little below N200 billion in purchasing GSM handsets.
