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Active Mobile Lines Decrease To 160.5m In August – NCC
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) says active mobile telephone lines in Nigeria decreased marginally to 160.5 million in August from 161.42 million in July.
NCC made this known in its monthly subscribers’ operator data posted on its website last Monday, saying the lines decreased by 904,767 in August.
The communications regulatory body added that the Mobile Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) for active mobile lines in August was 119,008 as against 125,444 recorded in July, a decrease of 6,436.
The report said the number of fixed wired/wireless for active mobile lines in August was 140,806 compared with its July figure of 140,582 lines, recording an increase of 224.
According to NCC, the number of Voice-Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) was 105,678 in August compared with 101,131 recorded in July, representing an increase of 4,547.
It also revealed that Teledensity reduced by 0.65 in August to 114.92 as against 115.57 in July.
Teledensity is the number of telephone connections for every 100 individuals living within an area and it varies widely across the country.
NCC also said that the number of connected lines in August stood at 240,432,680 million as against 238,219,577 million in July, showing an increase of 2,213,103 million.
The CDMA for connected lines for August was 247,983 as against 246,126 recorded in July, indicating an increase of 1,857, the subscribers’ data said.
The report said the number of fixed wired/wireless for connected lines in August was 351,103 compared with its July data that had 350,998, indicating an increase of 105 lines.
It also showed that the number of VOIP for connected lines in August was 690,042 as against 667,763 in July rising by 22,279 lines.
Cornerstone of Financial Services
A survey of more than 1 000 global finance leaders undertaken by digital payment network Ripple shows that 72% of respondents believe they need to offer a digital asset solution to remain competitive.
According to Ripple, leaders from the banking, fintech, corporate and asset management sector have made it clear that the “digital asset revolution is happening now”.
“Digital assets are quickly becoming a cornerstone of financial services, underpinned by progressive regulation, growing interest from Tier-1 banks, a steady consumer shift from banks to fintech providers, and booming stablecoin adoption,” Ripple says.
The survey was conducted in early 2026 and the findings released in March.
Stablecoin Boon or Bane?
Ripple has experienced significant success in the stablecoin sector since launching its Ripple USD (RLUSD) stablecoin in 2024.
With a market cap of $1.56 billion, it is considered a major regulated player in the market.
No doubt the platform was pleased to learn through its own survey that financial leaders were most bullish about stablecoins.
Roughly three-quarters of respondents believed they could boost cash-flow efficiency and unlock trapped working capital.
Ripple noted that finance leaders were thinking about stablecoins as more than “just a new way to execute payments”; instead, they viewed them as effective tools for treasury management.
In March 2026, Ripple began testing a new trade finance model built around RLUSD in a bid to increase the speed of cross-border payments.
The pilot initiative, developed alongside supply chain finance company Unloq [https://unloq.com], is running on the XRP Ledger inside a testing framework developed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore.
The Asian city-state is one of the platform’s biggest growth markets.
The idea behind the project is to see whether stablecoin-based settlement can streamline trade finance, too often hampered by reliance on intermediaries and slow reconciliation.
The only potential drawback is that if the initiative takes off, the Ripple to USD price could be negatively affected.
Ripple has always championed its native XRP token as a bridge asset, the “middleman” in the process of a financial institution turning dollars in the US into pounds in the UK, for example.
Ripple converts dollars into XRP and then back into pounds.
If RLUSD can do exactly the same thing, questions will be asked about XRP’s relevance.
That is a bridge Ripple will have to cross if it gets to that point.
Tokenisation Partners
Another interesting finding from Ripple’s survey is that most banks and asset managers are seeking tokenisation partners to help execute their strategies.
Some 89% of respondents said digital asset storage and custody were top priority. “Token servicing/lifecycle management also ranks highly for banks at 82%, while asset managers place greater emphasis on primary distribution at 80%,” Ripple found.
The survey also revealed that just more than half of fintechs and financial institutions want an infrastructure provider that can offer a “one-stop-shop solution”. This rose to 71% among corporate financial leaders.
Ripple attributes this to institutions and firms wanting uncomplicated, cohesive systems.
Infrastructure Rules
In its final analysis, Ripple says companies across the board are looking for partners and solutions that are “secure, compliant, battle-tested and that enable growth and execution”.
“The message is clear: infrastructure decisions made today will shape competitive positioning tomorrow.”
No surprise that this is precisely where Ripple is placing much of its focus.
