Brief comparison of telcos’ annual revenue reveals interesting disparities 

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) recently released its 2018 Subscriber/Network Data Report which contains interesting indicators and comparison of the six telecoms operators in Nigeria. Two things caught our attention from the report – the total revenue reported by the telcos during the period and the total number of full-time employees working in these companies.

The top sport: In terms of revenue, MTN Nigeria Communications Plc recorded the most at N1.04 trillion in full-year 2018. MTN is the only telecoms company that generated up to a trillion-naira worth of revenue last year.

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Other players: Interestingly, Airtel Nigeria comes in second, reporting total revenue to the tune of N399.5 billion. The company is followed by 9mobile which earned N166.9 billion in revenues despite the uncertainties that surrounded its operation due to ownership restructuring. Meanwhile, Globacom Nigeria Limited made N165.9 billion, even as Smile and NTEL made N11.1 billion and N4.4 billion, respectively.

The report by NCC also disclosed that none of the telcos has up to 4, 000 permanent employees working for it. Globacom Nigeria is the only telco that had up to 3140 as at December 2018, followed by MTN Nigeria (1,698) and 9mobile (1,404). The rest have less than a thousand permanent employees, with their figures reported thus:

• Airtel Nigeria: 573
• NTEL: 358
• Smile: 206

Based on the foregoing, Nigeria’s telecoms companies have less than 10, 000 permanent staff working for them. And considering the scale of their operations, some customers think there is a huge disparity which the telcos should perhaps work towards remedying.

Are these numbers natural? so much revenue YET so few Nigerians employed? 🤦‍♂️https://t.co/HeAFdU5O6M

— EE James 🕊 🔬🎙 (@eejamieson) November 4, 2019

[READ ALSO: NCC orders immediate suspension of USSD charges by telcos]

Moving on, the most interesting thing about the report is the fact that these telecoms companies are earning revenue in Nigeria. Someone even expressed surprise that the likes of NTEL is making billions, noting that the telecoms industry could be the best place to invest.

Ntel is even making billions. Na waaooo. Telecom na the place to invest o…

— OkunwaUUA🇳🇬 (@OkunwaUUA) November 4, 2019