Telecom subscribers in Nigeria spent N44.7 billion on sending SMS across networks, despite a huge number of undelivered messagesAccording to a new report by the NCC, a total of 22.97 billion text messages were exchanged during the yearMTN Nigeria led the networks where the most numbers of text messages were sent, followed by Airtel, Glo and 9Mobile respectively
Henzodaily.ng journalist Victor Enengedi has over a decade’s experience covering Energy, MSMEs, Technology and the Stock Market.
In 2023, Nigerian telecom subscribers spent N44.7 billion on sending text messages (SMS) across networks, even though many messages went undelivered.
These undelivered SMS, coupled with charges from mobile network operators (MNOs), have caused subscribers ongoing frustration.
According to the NCC, the number of SMS sent in 2023 rose by 20.66% compared to 2022.
Photo credit – DataHub, NCC, Tunez
Source: UGC
Total of 22.97 billion text messages sent
According to the newly released ‘2023 Subscriber/Network Performance Report,’ a total of 22.97 billion text messages were exchanged during the year, with 11.18 billion sent and 11.80 billion received across the networks.
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MTN, the largest telecom operator in Nigeria by subscribers and market share, handled 16.9 billion SMS in 2023, with 8.2 billion sent and 8.5 billion received. Globacom processed 1.35 billion messages, including 656.2 million sent and 694 million received.
Airtel handled 4.4 billion SMS, with two billion sent and 2.3 billion received. On 9mobile, 458.1 million messages were exchanged, with 299 million sent and 158.2 million received.
Smile Communications recorded 1.2 million messages, with 263,458 sent and 962,829 received.
75.4 million messages sent in 2023
The data also revealed that the total 22.9 billion SMS exchanged in 2023 represented an 11.38% decline compared to the 25.9 billion SMS recorded in 2022.
With the current cost of N4 per SMS, Nigerians spent N44.7 billion on the 11.2 billion messages sent in 2023, as telecom operators only charge for sent messages.
According to the NCC, the number of SMS sent in 2023 rose by 20.66% compared to 2022, while incoming SMS increased slightly by 0.35%.
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For international SMS in 2023, 75.4 million messages were sent, and 264.3 million were received, totaling 339.7 million messages.
MTN recorded the highest number of international SMS sent, with 34.5 million, followed by Airtel with 275.1 million received. Globacom handled 6.88 million, 9mobile processed 23 million, and Smile had 54,008 messages.
Telecom operators have been instructed to deactivate the USSD codes of nine banks due to unpaid debts. The NCC has given the affected banks until January 27, 2025, to settle their debts or risk losing access to these codes.
If the payments are not made, the codes, which are vital for mobile banking, may be reassigned to other users.
As of Tuesday, January 14, 2025, nine out of 18 banks had not complied with the commission’s orders.
While the other banks have cleared their debts, the total amount initially owed by all 18 institutions was over N200 billion.
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NCC addresses data depletion complaints
In related news, Henzodaily.ng reported that the NCC refuted allegations of widespread quick data depletion on mobile networks in Nigeria.
The clarification follows claims by subscribers that telecom operators had diminished the value of data packages offered to customers.
The commission stated that an audit conducted in the third quarter of 2024 found no evidence to support these allegations.
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Source: Henzodaily.ng