A new report released by Ericsson ConsumerLab has revealed out of the 82 per cent of people in Nigeria are currently using mobile phones to access the internet, 93 per cent browse the internet using their mobile phones.
The report titled Internet Goes Mobile showed mobile phones are the most popular device to access the Internet and use content services in Nigeria. This is supported by figures released by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC). According to the NCC, out of the country’s 142 million active telephone subscriptions, 83 million are being used to access the internet as at the end of February 2015.
According to the Internet Goes Mobile Report, 45 per cent of the population use laptops/desktops, while tablets provide Internet access for 44 per cent of Nigerians.
Discussing the latest report in Lagos Nigeria, Head of Ericsson’s sub-Saharan Africa region, Fredrik Jejdling, said the significant use of mobile broadband on mobile phones, PCs and tablets provides consumers with more mobility, further allowing them to remain connected and updated wherever they are.
“Internet users in Nigeria mostly perform online activities on their mobile phones. 94 per cent of consumers use social network sites and 93 per cent browse the Internet on their mobile phones,” he said.
According to him, more online activities are carried out on mobile phones than on laptops and tablets.
“Only 44 per cent of consumers use social network sites and 50 per cent browse the Internet on their PCs”, he said.
The study also showed Nigerians are interested in a greatly connected future and some of the technologies and services that Nigerians are interested in include connected homes and cars, social discovery, multi screening and P2P sharing.
“70 per cent of consumers are interested in having homes and cars that are connected to Internet. The high level of interest in staying connected constantly highlights the fact that Nigerian consumers would like to lead a more networked life,” Jejdling said.
“Irrespective of their location, users want to remain connected with messaging and calling, updated with browsing and social networking and have access to entertainment. Users expect good services, wherever they are”, the report noted.
Ericsson said it selected participants involved in the survey via random sampling in some of Nigeria’s major cities – Lagos, Kano, Ibadan, Kaduna, Port Harcourt, Enugu and Abuja.
The report suggested that the availability of good network and voice quality drives up consumer satisfaction…56 per cent of mobile phone users are satisfied with data speed and voice connection quality, over 50 per cent of those who switch between Wi-Fi and mobile broadband do so when they change locations or the availability of connections.