Less subscriptions on phones and data because of the economy.

Subscriptions to voice, internet, and broadband services have dropped significantly over the past month, reflecting the current economic headwind in the sector.

Broadband penetration fell by 1.44 percent in August as 2.73 million customers left their services, according to statistics published by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC). In just one month, the number went from 89.7 million to 86.9 million, as reported by The Guardian.

A total of 145,026 less people used the voice service. In July, the number was 220.6 million, but in August, it was only 220.7 million, and the teledensity fell from 115.70% to 115.63.

GSM-based internet users also saw a precipitous drop, with service providers losing a total of 507,621 customers. The number went down from July’s 158,982,962 to August’s 158,475,341.

Kehinde Aluko, an expert in the field of telecommunications, attributes the decline in mobile subscriptions to the effect of the economic crisis and low disposable income on the purchasing power of average Nigerians.