How growth in mobile subscriber base is a plus to you

The first quarter 2016 report on the telecommunication sector recently released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) is everything to be happy about for mobile phone subscribers. Before you learn how it benefits you, first a little detail on what the report said.

According to the NBS report, the total number of subscribers increased rapidly over the past ten years. At the end of 2005 there were over 19 million subscribers but by the end of 2015 the number was at over 151 million people. It means that on a yearly basis the number of subscribers was increasing by over 13 million on estimate.

The rate of growth however, was not sustained in the first quarter of 2016 mainly because of high market penetration which left little room for large expansion. In March 2016, there were about 148, 745,464 subscribers compared with 143,934,208 in March 2015, which represented an increase of over 4 million or 3.34 percent. Notably, this represents a decrease of 1.50 percent relative to the end of the previous quarter. It was the first quarterly decrease on record but enough to make you happy nonetheless.

The reason is simple – more competition as far as the telecoms sector is concerned, equals less prices. The more subscribers there are in the sector the more profit companies who provide telecommunication services can make. Profit is the primary motive of the companies and the driver of growth. When there is opportunity for profit there is impetus for competition.

As companies engage in competition, prices of products become competitive. The evidence is already showing. For internet data plans, for instance, N2, 000 will get you a 4GB Airtel data plan and N3, 500 can get you 9GB. Both plans are for 60 days. Etisalat has a weekend plan that gives you 1GB for N500 and for N1, 000 they will give you 1.5GB. MTN, which used to be stingy now has mouth-watering plans, for instance, for as low N100 you can get 3MB, N500 can give you 750MB, while N1, 000 can fetch you 1.5GB. GLO probably has the most exciting plans; with N50 you get 30MB, N500 gets you 1GB. The higher the plan you want the less the money you part with.

The rates for phone calls also see some decrease as a result. Airtel has a plan call Airtel Smart Talk Plan in which calls are charged at 11k/s from the very first second to local networks which means N6.60/min. International calls on the plan is at 20k/s to Canada, China, India, UK and USA. MTN Xtrapro is now the cheapest prepaid tariff plan on the MTN network. The plan allows a person to make call at 11k/sec (N6.60/min) the same rate as Airtel.

The rates are replicated in almost all the existing mobile networks. Experts say that more competitive prices should still be expected as new players like Ntel fully start their operations. To take advantage of these offers, you might to review the service you are on. If it is not given you the best at a lower rate, it is time to ‘port’.

So since you can expect to save some money from lower prices, it is recommended you do not overdo it. For some people, the fact that they can buy a product cheaper than what they are used is an incentive to want to overindulge. This is not the time to load more recharge cards or buy a data plan you do not need. Since you can do more at a lower budget, why not try to reduce your call budget and use the savings for other necessities?

FRANK ELEANYA