The ultimate beneficiary of the telecoms number portability campaign is the media.
Nigeria’s telecommunications sector saw data consumption surge past 13.2 million terabytes in 2025, even as growth in mobile subscriptions slowed, signalling a shift in Africa’s largest telecom market from rapid user expansion to heavier data usage by existing subscribers.
Industry data for December 2025 show total active mobile subscriptions rising modestly to 179.64 million, up from 177.43 million in November, while teledensity edged higher to 82.87 percent.
Despite the month-on-month improvement, subscriber growth remained uneven throughout 2025, with teledensity fluctuating and struggling to sustain a clear upward trajectory, pointing to a market nearing saturation.
In sharp contrast, internet usage expanded rapidly. According to the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), monthly figures underline the acceleration. Internet data usage climbed to 1.39 million TB in December 2025, up from 1.24 million TB in November, capping a year of strong growth driven by streaming, digital payments, remote work, online education and social media usage.
Read also: Rising data demand masks Nigeria’s slowing mobile expansion
Broadband adoption continued to rise alongside data demand. Internet subscriptions increased to 112.67 million in December, lifting broadband penetration to 51.97 percent, compared with 50.58 percent a month earlier.
The data suggest that while fewer new mobile users are coming onto networks, existing subscribers are consuming significantly more data.
Market concentration remains high. MTN Nigeria retained its lead with 93.06 million subscribers, accounting for 51.87 percent of the market, followed by Airtel with 60.89 million subscribers and a 33.94 percent share. Globacom held 12.39 percent, while smaller operators together accounted for less than two percent of total connections. As a result, the top two operators now control nearly 86 percent of Nigeria’s mobile market, positioning them to capture the bulk of data-driven growth.
Network usage patterns show fourth-generation (4G) technology dominating, accounting for 52.95 percent of connections by December 2025. Second-generation (2G) networks still supported 37.37 percent of users, reflecting affordability constraints and uneven access to smartphones, particularly in rural areas. Third-generation (3G) usage declined to 5.91 percent, while fifth-generation (5G) services, though expanding, remained limited at 3.77 percent.
Regulators say rising investment has helped support growing traffic, even as quality-of-service challenges persist. Aminu Maida, NCC executive vice chairman, said more than $1 billion in industry investment in 2025 led to the deployment of over 2,850 new sites to expand coverage and capacity.
