Globacom, one of Nigeria’s largest telecom providers, recently experienced a sharp decline in its subscriber base, dropping from 62.1 million in March 2024 to 19.1 million in September 2024. The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) attributes this drop to both operational challenges and revised metrics for counting active subscribers.
Impact of Ransomware Attack on Subscriber Numbers
The fallout began when Globacom suffered a ransomware attack earlier this year. According to cybersecurity analysts, such attacks can disrupt essential services like email access and operational applications, which likely contributed to customer dissatisfaction and churn. The attack reflects a growing pattern of ransomware targeting telecoms and cloud service providers in Nigeria, heightening cybersecurity concerns across the sector
NCC’s New Subscriber Metrics
Beyond the cyberattack, the NCC reviewed its policies to improve transparency. As of September 2024, the commission reclassified active users to include only those with revenue-generating activity (RG)—such as SMS, USSD, voice calls, or data usage—over a 90-day period. The revised counting method follows guidelines introduced in 2021, which also mandate that SIM cards without National Identification Number (NIN) verification be deactivatedricter rules impacted the entire industry, shrinking Nigeria’s total mobile subscription base from 217 million in March 2024 to 154 million by September. This adjustment revealed inflated figures across all telecom operators, indicating that previous reports overstated market performance.
Industry-Wide Challenges
The NCC confirmed that the recalibration of active users was necessary due to violations of reporting standards by leading telecom operators, including Globacom. Several providers had counted inactive lines to boost their market share statistics, distorting industry-wide data and masking actual consumer behavior