FROM ISAAC ANUMIHE, ABUJA
National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) yesterday gave a breakdown of telecommunication activities between 2010 and 2014, saying the number of SMS sent and received in 2010 on mobile lines totalled 1,747.09 million with outgoing text messages at 871.97 million and incoming text messages at 875.12 million.
The bureau also said in a report that in the course of daily activity, 1,722.70 million messages (98.6 per cent) were sent and received domestically while 24.39 million messages (1.4 per cent) were sent and received internationally.
Also in 2011, there was about 80 per cent growth in SMS sent and received to a total of 3,158.62 million.
“During this period, outgoing messages increased to 1,897.00 million, an approximately 1,000.00 million increase or by 117 per cent, and international incoming 16.25 63 92.57 115.45. Domestic incoming 858.86 1198.14 2141.26 1403.49. International outgoing 8.14 126.08 127.92 47.39, domestic outgoing 863.84 1775.82 1,953.28 1232.27,” it said.
However, SMS increased to 1,261.61 million, a 386.00 million increase or by 44 per cent. In this same year, 2,973.97 million messages (94 per cent) were sent and received domestically while 189.55 million messages (6 per cent) were sent and received internationally.
“In 2012, the sector recorded substantial growth of SMS sent and received, with a total of 4,315.03 million indicating a 36.6 per cent percentage increase. Outgoing messages increased by 9 per cent to amount to a total of 2,081.20 million while incoming messages increased by 77 per cent to total 2,233.82. During the year, a total of 4,094.54 million (94 per cent) messages were sent and received domestically while 220.49 million (5 per cent) messages were sent and received internationally.
The Nigerian Communication industry in 2013 recorded a decline in the number of SMS sent and received. The total number of SMS sent and received in 2013 stood at 3,394.94 million indicating a 21 per cent decrease from 2012. The outgoing messages in 2013 reduced to 1,555.02 million by 25 per cent and incoming messages also reduced by 17 per cent to equal 1,839.92 million SMS in that year. The domestic activity recorded a total of 2,635.77 million messages representing 77 per cent of SMS sent and received in 2013, while 162.84 million messages (4.7 per cent) were sent and received internationally in the same year.
“In 2010, the SMS fixed line service recorded only two operators in that market space. The total SMS sent and received grossed 246.32 million in that year with incoming SMS representing 80.5 per cent and outgoing SMS with 19.5 per cent of the total. 2011 took a downward slide with a 97.68 million reduction in the total number of SMS sent and received, indicating a 39.6 per cent drop to 148.64 million SMS in the same year. Incoming messages, however, contributed 51.8 per cent of the total SMS in 2011 showing a reduction of 61 per cent from the previous year. The total number of SMS in 2012 decreased compared to other years under review. A total of 76.31 million SMS were recorded in 2012.
Source : SunOnline