The telecommunications sector shed 383 jobs in one year as operating costs surged, according to new data from the Nigerian Communications Commission.

NCC’s 2023 and 2024 Year-End Performance Reports show that total staff strength across licensed operators dropped from 17,882 in 2023 to 17,499 in 2024.

This decline came amid a steep rise in operating expenses, which jumped from N3.16tn to N5.85tn—an 85.35% year-on-year increase.

The commission linked the cost spike to soaring energy prices, inflation, foreign exchange pressures, and multiple levies from state and local governments. Despite securing zero Right-of-Way fees in some states, operators still faced elevated costs for network deployment and maintenance.

“N5,854,257,451,225.71 is the total operating cost collated in year 2024 which increased by 85 per cent Year-on-Year from the N3,158,403,767,328.48.

“Most licensees complained of high Right-of-Way fees, harsh micro economic operating employment and rising inflation. However, the NCC has been able to secure zero ROW fees in some states in year 2024,” its latest 2024 Year-End Performance Report read.

The data also shows that GSM operators saw the sharpest staff cuts, reducing their workforce from 7,212 to 6,658 over the period. Internet Service Providers trimmed their headcount from 5,589 to 5,473, while employment in the Value-Added Services segment declined from 813 to 713.

Fixed-line operators recorded a marginal rise in staff, increasing from 268 to 272. Workforce numbers also grew in two categories: Collocation and Infrastructure Sharing providers expanded from 1,574 employees in 2023 to 1,751 in 2024, and the “Others” category increased from 2,426 to 2,632.

However, these gains were not enough to offset the deeper reductions in the GSM, ISP, and VAS segments.

The workforce cuts also mirrored a sharp decline in active voice subscriptions following the enforcement of the NIN-SIM linkage policy. Active lines dropped from 224.7 million in 2023 to 164.9 million in 2024 — a 26.61% fall. Teledensity likewise plunged from 103.66% to 76.08% over the same period.

The report read, “As at December 2024 total active voice subscriptions for the entire market segments was 164,926,599 as against 224,713,710 recorded as at December 2023. This indicates a decline of 26.61 per cent in 2024.

“The decline was attributed to the removal of Subscriber Identification Modules that are not linked to verifiable National Identification Numbers and the rectification of a major discrepancy by a Mobile Network Operator explains the significant drop in Nigeria’s telecoms subscriber base.

“Teledensity also recorded a corresponding decline of 26.61 per cent. Teledensity was 76.08 per cent in 2024 as against 103.66 per cent recorded in 2023 which is as a result seen in the Voice segment above.

“From September 2023, teledensity is calculated based on the Nigerian Population Commission’s projected population figure of 216 million.”

Despite the decline in subscriber numbers, the sector saw a substantial rise in capital investment.

CAPEX jumped from N990.55bn in 2023 to N2.90tn in 2024, driven by the rising cost of imported equipment and continued network expansion.

Operators added more infrastructure during the year, increasing tower sites from 39,356 to 39,880 and base stations from 137,992 to 145,141. Fibre rollout also expanded. Industry revenue grew as well, climbing from N5.30tn in 2023 to N7.67tn in 2024 — a 44.70 per cent increase.

However, operators noted in their submissions that escalating costs continued to weigh on their operations and long-term planning. The telecom sector contributed 14.40% to Nigeria’s GDP in Q4 2024, up slightly from 14% in Q4 2023.

In 2023, the industry had already warned that operators were cutting expenses and could be forced to lay off workers if the naira’s depreciation persisted.

A senior official of the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to lack of authorisation, said smaller operators were bearing the biggest strain.

According to the source, several small players had already begun laying off staff in a bid to stay afloat amid worsening economic pressures.